Monday, September 5, 2011

Mountains Beyond Mountains

Farmer affects Haiti with the spirit he brings to his physical work. When asked whether he expected others to replicate his efforts, he grins and replies, “fuck you” (42). He wants to instill in his medical staff the spirit to dedicate themselves to the patients, just as he does. He walks miles to reach single patients. He improves the lives of his patients by building them houses and latrines and schools. His spirit is partly due to the fact that the bigger picture can only be reached by surmounting the more basic, and more easily identifiable obstacles like fresh water. Once he deals with that, and the squalor some of his patients live in when all they desire is “dignified poverty”, he can wipe out diseases further. Farmer’s work is so spirited because he is empathetic, but also because he is extremely outcome-oriented. He has an end goal for these people, and he stops at nothing to help them get there. His physical work, then, is just an expression of his spirit. 

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