94-Year-Old Jimmy Carter Is Back To Building Homes For The Needy Just Months After Hip Surgery

Former United States President Jimmy Carter, the oldest living American President at the grand age of 94, has returned to building homes with Habitat for Humanity, a nongovernmental organization dedicated to constructing, rehabilitating, and preserving homes across the country. This is, of course, an amazing feat in and of itself. However, Carter recently underwent hip replacement surgery following a traumatic fall in his home in Georgia, which makes his act of kindness even more incredible. The President will be joined by his wife, former first lady Rosalynn Carter. The couple has been engaged in volunteer work with the nonprofit for almost four decades now, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports.

The Carters' decision to return to building houses was confirmed by a spokeswoman for the Carter Center as the former first couple was not available for comment. In addition to this, Bryan Thomas, a spokesman for Habitat for Humanity International, stated, "There have been many times when people have tried to count President Carter out, and they have never been right. We are excited that they will both [be] back."

The news comes only a few short months after former President Carter underwent hip replacement surgery. In May this year, he, unfortunately, experienced a nasty fall while at his home in Plains, Georgia. The procedure left him bedridden—but evidently, not for long. The superhero philanthropist even returned to the Sunday school class he normally teaches after a speedy recovery, teaching at Maranatha Baptist Church only a month after his surgery.

Habitat for Humanity will be working on a project in Nashville, Tennesse. From October 6 to October 11 of this year, the organization will be joined by the Carters, who will help construct a total of 21 homes in the area. Through their collaboration with the nonprofit, the couple has helped build an astonishing amount of over 4,300 houses in 14 different countries, working alongside 103,000 volunteers. They first started volunteering with them in 1984, three years after the former President's time in the White House ended. Their last project, the Carter Work Project in Mishawaka, Indiana, took place in 2018, CNN reports.

The project set to take place later this year is part of Mayor David Briley's Under One Roof 2029 initiative, through which the city of Nashville plans to invest $750 million over the next ten years in order to build 10,000 affordable housing units. The Carters will be playing their small role in helping those who currently do not have the means to access housing. The project is being launched at a crucial time; as Nashville experiences unprecedented levels of growth, some of the city's poorest are unable to afford the skyrocketing rates of rent.