Foreword

by Jimmy Carter

When I wrote the book Talking Peace: A Vision for the Next Generation, I devoted a substantial chapter to the "three basic building blocks of peace": food, shelter, and health care. While that may have surprised readers looking only to learn about the high-profile Camp David Accords or the Carter Center's worldwide mediation efforts, any discussion of the search for peace without acknowledging those three important physical needs ultimately would be meaningless.

Through the Carter Center, Rosalynn and I have been privileged to work with experts in improving agricultural production and heath care in many of the world's poorest countries. Through our work with Habitat for Humanity, we have had the opportunity to build houses and to shine a spotlight on the desperate need for decent, affordable shelter. These aren't just activities to fi ll our days; they are among the ways we choose to wage peace.

Habitat for Humanity is a remarkable organization filled with stories of hope and joy, physical exertion, and aching muscles. In No Hands but Yours, Habitat Chief Executive Officer Jonathan Reckford looks at housing through the lenses of mercy, humility, and justice, and invites readers to evaluate their own response to the immense need for secure shelter.

It has been said that most people take their homes for granted, but that no one who has been homeless or who has worked on a Habitat house ever does. This is a book that will put serious readers in the same category. Whether you are reading as an individual or as part of a study group, it's unlikely you will ever view housing quite the same way again.

Housing as mercy, humility, justice, a foundation for peace—decent shelter can be viewed as all of these. Rosalynn and I have been blessed to be able to make a small difference through an organization with a big mission: a world where everyone has an acceptable place to live, where creating and maintaining a habitat for humanity becomes everyone's goal.