Tina Farney's delightful illustrations of the old American tradition of barn-raising on pages 9, 13, and 16 of this issue depict what self-help is all about. No one person can raise a barn. Even an enterprising young couple can't do it alone. But if the community comes together and pools their individual skills and energies, the task is manageable, and even enjoyable. Each member of the community in turn benefits from this pooling of effort. What is concentrated on helping one person one time, becomes available to help the next person when it's needed.

No one person can manage VHL alone. Not even a strong and loving couple can manage by themselves. We need our community of friends around us. When we accept their help we are not only giving them the privilege of helping us, we are committing to them that we will do the same when they need us.

as published in September 1993, VHLFF 1:3