'It's like, Wow, I don't have to be ashamed of where I live. It gives me a sense of pride and community.' --Glendo Hamilton, Habitat homeowner in Jacksonville, Fla.

Words that Heal: Breaking Through Barriers
(continued)

Rita Carson, Belfast, Northern Ireland

I was never afraid
"It was never a problem for me to go to Glencairn. I was never afraid. I always had God with me. Every day, I'd say, 'My thoughts, words, deeds this day protect.' Just wee simple words, and He's never let me down. There was no gap for me to bridge. ... That's what Habitat is all about."
-Habitat homeowner Rita Carson, a Catholic, on helping Protestant homeowners build their houses in Belfast, Northern Ireland

What is most important
"What is most important in this world is relationships and people. Communication and honesty are most important."
-Christina Tahis, participant in the Summer Youth Blitz 2001 in Cluj-Napoca, Romania

	Jimmy Carter, Valdosta, Ga., USA

Habitat breaks the shell
"It's almost impossible for one of us to get to know intimately someone from the other side of the tracks. We don't break through the shell, even as Christians, to be with other people. Habitat breaks through that shell."
-Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter

It is not enough
"Jesus said, it is not enough to limit your love to your own nation, to your own race, to your own group. You must respond with love even to those outside of it, respond with love to those who hate you. This concept enables men to live together not as nations, but as the human race. We are at the stage of history where we will either take this step or perish. ... We shall either be reconciled--we shall love one another--or we shall perish."
-Clarence Jordan, founder of Koinonia Farm in Sumter County, Ga.

Affordable housing loses out
"Most people accept regional approaches to infrastructures, such as sewage and transportation systems. But they reject regionalism regarding social aspects, such as schools and who lives where. Almost all attempts to create suburban affordable housing have been thwarted by such local NIMBYism."
-Anthony Downs, senior fellow, Economic Studies at the Brookings Institution in a speech during the Brookings Symposium on the Relationship Between Affordable Housing and Growth Management