Former President Jimmy Carter collapses at Habitat build

WINNIPEG, Canada — Former President Jimmy Carter is recovering after he apparently collapsed from dehydration while building a Habitat for Humanity home in Canada.

Channel 2's Richard Elliot went to the Carter Center Thursday to get updates on the former president’s condition and learned his will be OK.

[PHOTOS: Former President Jimmy Carter helps build homes for Habitat for Humanity in Canada]

Carter, the 39th president of the United States, is currently recovering at a Winnipeg, Manitoba, hospital after he apparently collapsed from the heat while building a Habitat for Humanity home.

“President Carter has been working hard all week. He was dehydrated working in the hot sun and has been taken offsite for observation,"the Carter Center said in a statement. “As a precaution, he was transported to St. Boniface general hospital for rehydration. Mrs. Carter is with him.”

[PHOTOS: President Jimmy Carter through the years]

The CBC reported that firefighters and paramedics scrambled to him and an ambulance was brought in.

Carter, 92, told Elliot just a few months ago that he felt in good health.

Elliot met with the former president at his old elementary school in Plains, Georgia in February.

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He was there to talk about solar energy and how he leased some family property to a company to build a solar farm and power parts of his hometown.

“We rent our land for about $175 an acre for irrigated land, and about $35 an acre for un-irrigated lane, whereas we lease this 13 1/2 acres for $500 an acre per year, and that's a good income for a farmer,” Carter told Elliot at the time.

After the interview, Elliot asked Carter about his health and his recovery from cancer. He said he felt great and was looking forward to his next challenge.

At the Carter Center Thursday, Elliot spoke with Sharita Ogletree, who lives in the area and was shocked to hear the news.

“That's crazy. I didn't even hear about it,” Ogletree told Elliot.

She wished the former president a speedy recovery.

“I just hope him the best. I hope he gets better. We need him back,” Ogletree said.

Elliot contacted the former president's grandson, Jason Carter, Thursday afternoon.

Jason Carter said he talked to his grandfather following the incident, and told him he was fine.

President Carter and his wife Rosalynn are in Winnipeg building homes as a part of the Carter Work Project, which runs through Friday.

The Carters are very involved with Habitat for Humanity. To date, President and Mrs. Carter have served with over 92,260 volunteers in 14 countries to build, renovate and repair 3,944 homes, according to the organization's website.

Cox Media Group