Advertisement

Proctor, who spent a week in Mississippi in May working on the 25th Jimmy and Rosylan Carter Work Project with his wife Ness, said much has changed, but much is still the same.

“They are improving still, but they are still in need,” he said. “This is going to be going on for years. Homeowners have taken a lot on their shoulders. You could see the people that lived day to day.”

Proctor, a Romeo resident, has been volunteering with Habitat for Humanity for more then a decade and has been to build sites all over the world, including Mexico, South Africa, the Philippines and all over the United States.

There were 20 Habitat chapters involved during the week-long project in Mississippi. Biloxi, Gulfport and Pascagoula acted as the main sites.

The Proctors joined a group from Habitat for Humanity Oakland where they worked in the community of Diamondhead, Miss. More than 300 volunteers worked in that area and were responsible for building 10 new homes during that week.

The Proctors worked on a house for Audrey Steele and her daughters, Hannah, 10, and Rebecca, 1. The group they volunteered with consisted of people from Oakland, Macomb and Detroit Habitat groups, along with volunteers from various states across the country.

“The homeowners, they are like a kid in a candy store,” Proctor said. “When a wall goes up, they get excited. She was grateful. The neighbors would come out and say thanks. You get that kind of a feeling on all builds.”

Proctor said that despite hot, muggy and occasionally rainy weather, the project was finished in a timely fashion.

“The price of gas is going to slow people down who want to volunteer, but a lot of groups will not stop. They will still make this their yearly event.”

Since Habitat for Humanity started building in the gulf region after Hurricane Katrina, more than 70,000 volunteers have helped in the construction of 1,300 homes.

Proctor, who doesn’t have any concrete plans to volunteer again this summer, said Habitat for Humanity International’s 26th annual Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter Work Project will take place in the Mekong River region in November 2009. He added that this will include areas of Vietnam, the Yunnan Province in China, Thailand, Laos and Cambodia.

“You do what you can. You don’t force yourself into to much.”

For more information about Habitat for Humanity or for information on signing up with a local group, visit www.habitat.org