12/27/2011
Hope everyone is having a lovely holiday! PIH just sent out a lovely end of year updated. Re-posting here for those of you who didn't see it:
"I write from Rwanda, where I am lucky to be spending this holiday season. The academic term has drawn to a close, and as the year follows suit I am reflecting on another extraordinary year at Partners In Health.
The challenges—cholera raging in Haiti, widespread funding constraints, the ongoing catastrophe of poverty in its many manifestations—have been many. And so, too, have our victories: the opening of Butaro Hospital, here in Rwanda; the publication of the first PIH Program Management Guide; a commitment to roll out the cholera vaccine in Haiti.
Throughout, we have cared for our patients, taught (and learned from) our students, and worked to better understand the causes, both disease-based and structural, of the needless suffering and preventable deaths we see every day.
It is this—ending these stupid deaths—to which we have committed ourselves, from the beginning.
The year to come will be our twenty-fifth at Partners In Health; Ophelia Dahl and I met nearly 30 years ago, in Mirebalais, Haiti. From that first year to this—through the many triumphs and sorrows of this complex, difficult, most rewarding work—the constant has been your support. We are deeply grateful for your belief in us, your partnership, and your generosity, which have made all of this work possible.
Together we have built hospitals, and rebuilt communities. Together we are building a movement to ensure that high-quality medical care is available to all who need it, not just those who can afford it. Together we will complete, in Mirebalais, a new national referral hospital in a quake-ravaged country; and train a new generation of global health clinicians, in the U.S. and in the other countries in which we serve. I am humbled by these tasks, but undaunted: for as our work has grown, so I know we will have your support.
On behalf of my colleagues, and especially our patients, around the world—thank you. Please continue to partner with PIH in this important work.
http://act.pih.org/renew-your-support-this-holiday-season
From my family to yours, we wish you a peaceful, joyous holiday.
Yours, gratefully, from Rwinkwavu, Rwanda-
Paul
Paul Farmer
Co-founder
Partners In Health"
Please make a tax-deductible donation before December 31, 2011, to help us deliver lifesaving medical care in poor communities around the world.
