Carter helps launch campaign to build homes for 50,000 families in Mekong region

By MICHAEL CASEY , Associated Press

Last update: November 16, 2009 - 1:19 AM

CHIANG MAI, Thailand - Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter helped the housing charity that he champions, Habitat for Humanity, launch a campaign Monday to build homes for 50,000 families in the Mekong River region over the next five years.

Carter and his wife, Rosalynn, are among 3,000 volunteers from 25 countries working with Habitat for Humanity this week to help build and repair homes along the Mekong River in Thailand, Vietnam, China, Cambodia and Laos.

The homes in Cambodia are being built for families currently living in a garbage dump, the ones in Vietnam are for fishermen who now live on their boats, and the project in China involves construction of an apartment building in a part of Sichuan province devastated by a 2008 earthquake.

"In an area of the world where many people live in deplorable conditions, we have a chance to help families improve their housing," said Carter, wearing sneakers, jeans and a work shirt. He and his wife spent Monday helping build homes in northern Thailand's Chiang Mai province, where 82 will be constructed in honor of King Bhumibol Adulyadej, who celebrates his 82nd birthday next month.

Habitat for Humanity's Chief Executive Officer Jonathan Reckford said the Georgia-based nonprofit group decided to scale up its activities in the Mekong region over the next five years because the needs were so great.

"This is an area that gets less attention than some other parts of the world," Reckford said. "But if you look at income levels, there are huge numbers of families living at terribly low levels at a dollar a day. There is a huge deficit of decent housing, so it starts with the need."

Carter, who spent the morning filling in the foundation cracks of a home, said his experience over the years with Habitat has been a rare chance to work along with some of the world's poorest families. He was joined by several regional celebrities, including Chinese movie star Jet Li and Japanese football legend Hidetoshi Nakata.

"This is a wonderful opportunity for me and my wife to break down the barriers that exist between rich people like us and those in need who have never had a decent home," Carter said. "Every year when we have been in a place side by side with Habitat families, we have always benefited more than we contributed. We have always come out ahead."

Alongside Carter, the several hundred volunteers worked with the new homeowners under a blazing sun to build the foundations and start work on the doors and windows for the homes, which were expected to be finished Friday. Among the volunteers were the U.S. Ambassador Eric John and scores from American companies, including 65 from Delta Airlines.

"It's a good feeling to see everything built for these families," said Carl Leon-Guerrero, a Delta customer service supervisor from Nashville, Tennessee. "As a native of Guam, I know what Asian communities go through with the typhoons and monsoons. So it's good to see a concrete home for these families."

Since its founding in 1976, Habitat has built and rehabilitated more than 300,000 homes worldwide, providing simple shelter for 1.5 million people.

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