Habitat for Humanity's annual Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter Work Project returns to Haiti

ATLANTA, May 10, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, Habitat for Humanity announced its 29th annual Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter Work Project will return to Leogane, Haiti, for the second year in a row to help earthquake-affected families. The 2012 build will take place Nov. 25-Dec. 1, when President and Mrs. Carter will join hundreds of volunteers to build homes with families in the area considered to be the epicenter of the 2010 earthquake.

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Volunteers will build 100 houses during the week. The build will take place in the Santo community, the site of last year's Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter Work Project. The Santo build is part of a larger Habitat shelter program funded by the Multilateral Investment Fund of the Inter-American Development Bank and many other donors.

"Last year, Rosalynn and I worked side by side with families left homeless by the 2010 earthquake and Habitat volunteers to build desperately needed homes in Haiti," said President Carter. "We were both deeply moved by the experience in a country we have known and loved for years. We have a deep personal investment in the future of Haiti and look forward to returning to Haiti in 2012 to build 100 more homes in Leogane."

The Carter Work Project will be the culmination of a two-month observance to bring attention to the need for safe and decent housing and the pivotal role of housing in community development, beginning on World Habitat Day, Oct. 1. Designated each year by the United Nations, World Habitat Day calls attention to the need for adequate housing for all people by raising awareness and mobilizing people to take action. This year's World Habitat Day theme is "Many Homes, One Community."

Habitat for Humanity has operated in Haiti for more than 28 years and provided more than 2,000 families in Haiti with housing solutions, including new home building and repair prior to the 2010 earthquake. In the two years following the disaster, Habitat has reached more than 40,000 families in Port-au-Prince, Cabaret and Leogane through its five-year recovery program. The program has included the distribution of emergency shelter kits, construction of transitional and upgradable shelters, repairs and rehabs, and permanent core houses. Programs focused on land reform advocacy, urban reconstruction and training initiatives have benefitted many more.

The Carters are Habitat for Humanity's most famous volunteers and give a week of their time each year to help Habitat build, renovate or repair homes, and raise awareness about the need for affordable and decent housing. They joined Habitat for Humanity in 1984 to help renovate a decaying building in New York City's Lower East Side. Today, the building is part of a thriving, reinvigorated and dynamic community. Since that first build, the Carters and thousands of volunteers have worked with Habitat for Humanity across the United States and in Mexico, Canada, Hungary, South Africa, South Korea, India, the Philippines, Thailand, Cambodia, China, Laos and Vietnam.

Individuals interested in volunteering for the event can register online at http://www.habitat.org/cwp/2012/registration.aspx. Participants must be 18 years of age or older, in good health and have a valid passport. Registration will continue until all volunteer slots are filled.

About Habitat for Humanity International

Habitat for Humanity International is a global nonprofit Christian housing organization that seeks to put God's love into action by bringing people together to build homes, communities and hope. Since 1976, Habitat has served more than 500,000 families by welcoming people of all races, religions and nationalities to construct, rehabilitate or preserve homes; by advocating for fair and just housing policies; and by providing training and access to resources to help families improve their shelter conditions. For more information, to donate or to volunteer, please visit www.habitat.org, or follow us at www.facebook.com/habitat or at www.twitter.com/habitat_org or join Habitat's blog community at www.habitat.org/blog.

SOURCE Habitat for Humanity International