Tracy Kidder's 2003 book (Mountains Beyond Mountains: The Quest of Dr. Paul Farmer, A Man Who Could Cure the World) is in focus right now given the horrific tragedy in Haiti. The paperback just came out this past August. The New England Journal of Medicine published an enthusiastic review of the book and praise for Farmer: "There remains something miraculous about Paul Farmer. Not only is it an enjoyable book, but it is also very likely that a part of the $25.95 (hardcover cost) spent in purchasing it will find its way back to Haiti." Dr. Paul Farmer along with Ophelia Dahl, and three other doctors/health care workers founded "Partner's in Health." Their mission statement: offering a health care organization providing a "preferential option for the poor." And now, more than ever, "Partner's in Health" is vital to the people of Haiti. This is one non-profit that is legit. You give them money, it WILL be spent on those who need it.
I've been in 6.0 and above earthquakes. I was raised on jittery Los Angeles ground, tenuous southern California slabs called crustal plates. In the early morning hours of February 9, 1971, I woke up to find my bed had traveled across the room. I got up and ran/danced to my mother. We clung to each other under the doorframe of my bedroom. I felt the earth beneath me, heard the sound of clattering and smashing dishes, creaking door frames, furniture falling and everything in it or on it, crashing to the ground. As I held on to my mother, with every crashing sound, my whole being wished it over, wished the ground to stop. Realizing that ground is not static is a kind of existential crisis. However, I was in a place where one can survive 6.0 and 7.0 magnitudes of movement because most structures have been built to withstand seismic waves. Fifty eight people died that morning in a city of three million. Haiti, not so fortunate. The latest estimate stands at 50,000 fatalities. Even before this latest disaster, the geographic area has been devastated by deforestation, soil erosion, poverty.
Mountains Beyond Mountains. Here's your chance to help. Click on this link to "Partner's in Health" and give Dr. Farmer and his health care providers the finances they need to save as many people as possible right now.
