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Transcript/ScriptJimmy Carter Hospice
HEADLINE: Former President Jimmy Carter Enters Hospice Care
TEASER: Some believe Carter’s popularity increased due to his volunteerism with Habitat for Humanity, his efforts to promote peace and fight neglected tropical diseases through the programs of the Carter Center
PUBLISHED: 02/19/23 at 710p
BYLINE: Kane Farabaugh
CONTRIBUTOR:
DATELINE: Chicago
VIDEOGRAPHER: Kane Farabaugh
PRODUCER: Kane Farabaugh
SCRIPT EDITORS: MPage; caw
VIDEO SOURCE (S): VOA, Carter Center, AP
PLATFORMS (mark with X): WEB __ TV X RADIO __
TRT: 3:04
VID APPROVED BY: Jepsen
TYPE:
EDITOR NOTES: Courtesies at: 01:27 - 01:32 - Carter Center 02:13 - 02:41 - Facebook / Maranatha Baptist Church))
((INTRO))
[[The Atlanta-based nonprofit Carter Center announced 98-year-old former U.S. President Jimmy Carter is receiving hospice care at his home in Plains, Georgia. VOA’s Kane Farabaugh has more.]]
((NARRATOR))
Buffalo, New York native Suzanne Taylor says former President Jimmy Carter’s declining health wasn’t a surprise to her, but the announcement he was entering hospice care came as a shock.
((Suzanne Taylor, Habitat for Humanity Volunteer)) ((Skype))
“I have to admit that I cried at breakfast. // “That was a little bit of a wake-up call for me, that we are going to lose him at some point.”
((NARRATOR))
Between 2006 and 2019, Taylor was among hundreds of volunteers working alongside Carter and his wife Rosalynn on their annual Habitat for Humanity Work Project, building homes around the world for those in need.
((Suzanne Taylor, Habitat for Humanity Volunteer)) ((Skype))
“So many people really appreciate him. He’s had such an impact and it’s going to be so hard to close that chapter.”
((Jonathan Alter, Author)) ((Skype))
“It was sad because he has led such an epic American life.”
((NARRATOR))
Jonathan Alter spent five years writing a biography about Jimmy Carter, titled, “His Very Best,” that allowed him to interview and observe the former president before his health declined.
((Jonathan Alter, Author)) ((Skype))
“When you take stock of his life, he won at life. Ninety-eight years – longest lived president, married for close to 77 years.”
((NARRATOR))
After losing the presidency in a resounding defeat in 1980, Alter believes Carter’s increased popularity came through his volunteerism with Habitat for Humanity, his efforts to promote peace and fight neglected tropical diseases through the programs of the Carter Center, and as the voice of a seasoned politician and elder statesman.
((Jonathan Alter, Author)) ((Skype))
“This is a guy, even though he was in business and thought about the bottom line plenty in the years before he was president, spent most of his life thinking about what could he do to improve the lives of other people and that’s still extraordinarily rare.”
((NARRATOR))
Carter’s popularity also increased while traveling the country autographing and promoting dozens of books he wrote, and by hosting crowds at his small church in Plains, Georgia during his Sunday school lessons, where one day after the announcement of his decision to enter hospice care, Carter’s niece Kim Fuller led the congregation in prayer.
((Kim Fuller, Maranatha Baptist Church)) ((courtesy: Facebook / Maranatha Baptist Church))
“I think at this time in all of our lives, and in the lives of those we love very much who are going through this today and will be going through it, maybe if we think about it, maybe it’s time to pass the baton. Who will pick [it] up? I have no clue, because this baton is going to be a really big one.”
((Suzanne Taylor, Habitat for Humanity Volunteer))
“Rosalynn and Jimmy are accessible and gracious — and people feel like they really got to know him.”
((NARRATOR))
Which is why Taylor believes the news of his deteriorating health is that much harder for many to accept.
((Suzanne Taylor, Habitat for Humanity Volunteer))
“I think his accessibility has created a bond with a lot of Americans that most presidents don’t have.”
((NARRATOR))
((Kane Farabaugh, VOA News, Chicago))
NewsML Media TopicsArts, Culture, Entertainment and Media
NetworkVOA
Location (dateline)
Chicago
Embargo DateFebruary 19, 2023 19:00 EST
Byline((Kane Farabaugh, VOA News, Chicago))
Brand / Language ServiceVoice of America - English
