Mountains Beyond Mountains
Saving One Life at a Time
In the book, Mountains Beyond Mountains by Tracy Kidder, Paul Farmer made and continues to make a profound difference in the world. He was extremely successful because of the help he received from people who surrounded him. Partners In Health (PIH), Farmer’s organization, gives healthcare to people who cannot afford it and treatment to those with tuberculosis and AIDS. Although he was a founding advocate to the success of Partners In Health, Farmer would not have accomplished all that he did without the aid from others. Usually, it takes a group of people with the same goals in order to make a change in the world. Not everyone in the world can drop his/her entire life and put as much effort into saving the world as Paul Farmer did. However, he had many dedicated people who helped him. Without Ophelia Dahl, Tom White, and Jim Yong Kim, Paul Farmer would not have been nearly as successful as he is today.
Ophelia Dahl sacrificed a great deal to make Partners In Health the success it is. Ophelia met farmer when she was just eighteen years old working as a volunteer for Eye Care Haiti. Ophelia and Farmer fell in love while both in Haiti. They both decided their relationship was not going to work due to the amount of time Farmer spent helping others. She realized that her needs as his wife would get in the way of his desire to be the best doctor that he could be. In a letter that Ophelia wrote to Paul she said, “The qualities I love in you-that drew me to you-also cause me to resent you: namely your unswerving commitment to the poor, your limitless schedule and your massive compassion for others” (Kidder 66). This quote proves how much Farmer put himself before others and put his personal life last on his priority list. Ophelia described Paul Farmer as someone whom is a pleasure to work around. She explained there is always a way to avoid being a bystander because Farmer constantly needs help. In response to that, Ophelia helped start
In the book, Mountains Beyond Mountains by Tracy Kidder, Paul Farmer made and continues to make a profound difference in the world. He was extremely successful because of the help he received from people who surrounded him. Partners In Health (PIH), Farmer’s organization, gives healthcare to people who cannot afford it and treatment to those with tuberculosis and AIDS. Although he was a founding advocate to the success of Partners In Health, Farmer would not have accomplished all that he did without the aid from others. Usually, it takes a group of people with the same goals in order to make a change in the world. Not everyone in the world can drop his/her entire life and put as much effort into saving the world as Paul Farmer did. However, he had many dedicated people who helped him. Without Ophelia Dahl, Tom White, and Jim Yong Kim, Paul Farmer would not have been nearly as successful as he is today.
Ophelia Dahl sacrificed a great deal to make Partners In Health the success it is. Ophelia met farmer when she was just eighteen years old working as a volunteer for Eye Care Haiti. Ophelia and Farmer fell in love while both in Haiti. They both decided their relationship was not going to work due to the amount of time Farmer spent helping others. She realized that her needs as his wife would get in the way of his desire to be the best doctor that he could be. In a letter that Ophelia wrote to Paul she said, “The qualities I love in you-that drew me to you-also cause me to resent you: namely your unswerving commitment to the poor, your limitless schedule and your massive compassion for others” (Kidder 66). This quote proves how much Farmer put himself before others and put his personal life last on his priority list. Ophelia described Paul Farmer as someone whom is a pleasure to work around. She explained there is always a way to avoid being a bystander because Farmer constantly needs help. In response to that, Ophelia helped start
Cited: Kidder, Tracy. Mountains beyond Mountains. New York: Random House Trade Paperbacks, 2009. Print.