Building A Better World: Developing Communities of Hope in Troubled Times

by Dave Andrews

On the surface the world we know seems to work pretty well. But scratch the surface and we bleed. Building A Better World is an account filled with clarity, a vision filled with love, an action agenda filled with realism.

274 pages, Paperback

First published November 25, 1997

About the author

David Frank Andrews is an Australian Christian anarchist author, speaker, social activist, community worker, and a key figure in the Waiter's Union, an inner city Christian community network working with Aboriginals, refugees and people with disabilities in Brisbane, Australia.

Reviews

[David McNair · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have just finished reading the Special 20th Edition of “Building A Better World - Developing Communities of Hope in Times of Despair” by Dave Andrews. I first read this book 20 years ago in 1999, 3 years after it was first published. At the time I had just finished attending the West End Community Orientation Course run by the Waiters Union. I was also just starting out working in the homeless sector in Sydney as a qualified Social Worker. 20 years on in working in the homeless sector both in Sydney and Brisbane, I still believe this is one of the most important books about community development that has been written. If you needed just one textbook for community development then this is it.
“To laugh often and much
To win the respect
of intelligent people
and the affection
of children
To earn the appreciation
of honest critics
and to endure the betrayal
of false friends
To appreciate beauty
To find the best in others
To leave the world a bit better
whether by
a healthy child
a garden patch
or a redeemed social condition
To know even one life
has breathed easier
because you have lived -
this is to have succeeded”
- Ralph Waldo Emerson