These books cleared up my vision of the world and of myself

This book started it all for me. It prosecutes and requests sentencing for the greatest murderer of all: poverty. The book was recommended to me by my daughter who was majoring in Global Health at Wharton Business School at the time and is now attending medical school. After I read this book, I understood the life she is marking out for herself.

If you read nothing but the first chapter, you will surely be convinced that you must contribute to global health in some fashion. If you are not, you either have no brains, no heart, or neither. I have raised Singer’s ethical questions with people, and while some have been annoyed, none has ever been able to effectively refute the conclusions.

I made my husband, my lay pastor, and then my friends read this. I knew they would not be able to put it down once they started; it’s that good. The stories are exciting and personal and learned that only about one third of this famed NGO are doctors. It also has engineers, agronomists, logisticians, and even lawyers who deal with international trade laws.

Some people think that the Rwandan genocide is a tale of Hutus and Tutsis, a bunch of crazy natives, living in huts, hunting lions, and throwing spears. Some still think that as long as they were just killing each other, the world has no responsibility to interfere. Immaculee Ilibazia is a woman left to tell the truth. How could a world be so blind? How could what she endured and tells about so eloquently have led her to greater faith and even forgiveness?

After the earthquake in Haiti this year, the news channels listed reputable aid groups where donations could be sent. Among them was a group called Partners In Health, founded by Dr. Paul Farmer, a Harvard educated infectious disease specialist. Dr.Farmer’s decades long love of Haiti began while he was still a student, and despite all the accolades and awards he has since received, he is happiest among the poorest people in the western hemisphere. What is his payback? It’s a mystery still to me, but this book shed light on the darkest corners of my heart and mind.

Greg Mortenson was a mountain climber who almost lost his life in an attempt to climb K2 . He was saved by a group of Pakistanis who nursed him back to health in their village. In gratitude, Mortenson promised to return one day and build the village a school. He not only kept this promise, but has been building schools there ever since. The books are page turning adventure stories as well as documentation of an unassuming young man turned to humanitarian greatness. Mr. Mortenson’s belief that education, especially of women, is so valued that the American military now consults with him. It is interesting that the story all started with someone helping another person heal.

Dr. Rick Hodes, a native of Long Island, has spent two decades in Africa working to relieve some of the greatest suffering imaginable. Neither famine, nor genocide, nor disease dampened his zeal for bringing relief and he has kept up a punishing schedule Ethiopa is his adopted home home, and he actually adopted five children so that they could be covered under his medical plan for lifesaving sugeries. His capacity to give his ability to forgive, even his sense of humor amidst it all is truly amazing.