By Maria Alejandra Cardona
ATLANTA (Reuters) – Sally Mae Hollis says she isn’t the sole owner of the house in Atlanta she’s lived in for the past 36 years, graciously telling visitors who stop by: “This is Jimmy’s home!”
That would be Jimmy Carter, the former U.S. president who in 1988, along with his wife, Rosalynn, helped workers from Habitat for Humanity construct the three-bedroom, two-bathroom house where Hollis, 86, has resided ever since.
Carter, who died on Dec. 29 at age 100, was an avid backer of Habitat for Humanity, a non-profit that has helped over 59 million people build or repair homes in more than 70 countries. His Carter Center worked on 4,447 homes in 14 counties, according to the center’s website, with the former president himself swinging a hammer on many of them.
“He was so plain, just like everybody else,” Hollis recalled on Tuesday of Carter when he assisted in constructing the porch of her home. “Jimmy cut the wood, and we finished it that day. That back porch lasted 30 years until I finally replaced it last month.”
As she thumbed through scrap books full of photos and newspaper clippings of the construction of her home, Hollis pondered Carter’s legacy.
“It would be the grace of God if we can find another human like Jimmy Carter,” Hollis said.
“The man he had love, he cared for people. And in this world, you got to know love. You got to have love, … we are all sisters and brothers. And that’s what a lot of people don’t understand.”
The Carters worked alongside Hollis and other volunteers to complete her entire home in a week.
They shared meals together and built friendships as they hammered and sawed. For Hollis, the experience wasn’t just about a house, it was about getting to know the love and humanity of Carter.
“If it weren’t for Jimmy Carter, I’d still be going from apartment to apartment. He put me in this house, and I’m planning on staying here until they take me out,” Hollis said.
“I thank him for it. I really do. I love him for it.”
(Reporting by Maria Alejandra Cardona in Atlanta; Writing by Brad Brooks; Editing by Leslie Adler)
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