President Jimmy Carter honored by local Habitat for Humanity in the neighborhood he helped to build

 

SAINT JOSEPH COUNTY, Ind. --Habitat for Humanity of Saint Joseph County honored President Jimmy Carter and his lasting impact on the Michiana community Wednesday night.

The organization held a candlelight memorial event Wednesday evening in the very neighborhood President Carter helped to build from the ground up in 2018.

"I wish President and Mrs. Carter could see what this neighborhood looks like now," said Jim Williams, President and CEO of Habitat for Humanity of St. Joseph County.

A show of former President Jimmy Carter's public service will live on in that Mishawaka neighborhood for years to come.

The memorial event served as a 'thank you' from volunteers, staff, and families of the Saint Joseph County Habitat for Humanity.

"It is a great neighborhood," said Habitat for Humanity homeowner, Cleora Taylor. "I'm so glad that me and my kids got the opportunity to be in such a great place."

President Carter and his wife Rosalynn hammering nails themselves in the first homes in the neighborhood, as part of the Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter Work Project in 2018.

Nusrat Zahan is one of those homeowners whose life was turned around with the help of jimmy carter.

"I chose a lonely path in a different country, I was very lost, I was very afraid," said Nusrat Zahan, another Habitat for Humanity homeowner. "Then President Carter's Habitat program felt like a Godsend to me."

Mishawka Mayor Dave Wood telling the crowd he learned what a public servant is after working alongside the former president for several years in the Habitat organization.

"He taught me that it's very important to love your community, love the place you serve, and even more important, to be passionate and love who you serve," said Mishawaka Mayor Dave Wood."

Signatures and 'Thank You' notes covered a door at the vigil to represent the doors Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter opened for Habitat homeowners in Mishawaka.

"I can tell you that the legacy of President Carter will live on, and it will live on right here in Mishawaka," Mayor Wood said.

Mayor Dave Wood announced that, with the help of Habitat for Humanity, the city has purchased and acquired land for the next 50-75 homes that will be a part of the neighborhood!