Health, Election Work Elevated Jimmy Carter Post-Presidency

To Azaratu Zakaria, Jimmy Carter’s battle against the Guinea worm is represented by a scar

In this Aug. 23, 2015 file photo, former President Jimmy Carter teaches Sunday School class at Maranatha Baptist Church in his hometown in Plains, Ga. AP Photo/David Goldman

ATLANTA—To Azaratu Zakaria, Jimmy Carter’s battle against the Guinea worm is represented by a scar.

Zakaria was the last person to be declared disease-free in Ghana after more than 20 years of work spearheaded by the former president’s humanitarian organization, The Carter Center. Zakaria, who is in her 40s, said she and her family have prayed every day since Carter announced this month that cancer has spread to his brain and forced him to scale back his work.

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