The Carters worked on the construction of House Fourteen at the Asan site, one of six construction sites throughout South Korea. The JCWP was held in conjunction with the “World Leaders Build,” which had world leaders from 26 nations building with HFHI in 43 countries. South Korea’s president, Kim Dae-jung came to the Asan site to meet with Carter. Back home, current U.S. President George W. Bush, and his wife, Laura, worked on a new home for the Evans family in Waco, Texas.
The site at Asan was the primary building site and the weeklong construction project called for the completion of 20 buildings, each with living space for four families. The site work was complete and the foundations through the roof framing and decking were in place when volunteers arrived on the site on Monday. The job was to completely finish the units inside and out by Friday. A total of 500 volunteers from the United States were spread across all six building sites. The author worked on House Two at the Asan site. Another 9,000 or so other volunteers, some from Japan, Australia and Europe, but mostly from Korea, rounded out the building force. Volunteers came from all quarters, some working as part of their company’s sponsorship efforts, some with church groups, and many as individuals contributing their own time. Some worked a week; others worked a day or two.