Two years after the quake, the cornerstones of PIH's rebuilding take shape
Posted on Dec 14, 2011
PIH co-founder Paul Farmer reflects on Mirebalais and meliorism.
On January 25, 2012, Paul Farmer shared his thoughts on our efforts in Haiti two years after the earthquake. In his insightful essay, Dr. Farner reflects back on the enormous achievements gained and the gaps that still need to be addressed as the poorest nation in the Western Hemisphere continues its long journey of recovery.
HAITI: TWO YEARS LATER
I’ve just returned from two brief trips to Haiti. Conditions there are harsh, but improving, and that’s cause for some joy. I wish to translate my own uplift into a New Year’s message of gratitude and determination. Because the backdrop is admittedly stark, it’s only fair to acknowledge the possibility that I am writing this to give myself hope and to spur all of us to launch, continue, or finish some ambitious and urgently needed projects.
On Saturday, January 21, the CBS Evening News's Jon LaPook sat down with Paul Farmer in the new Mirebalais National Teaching Hospital, the state-of-the-art medical complex being built by PIH and Haiti’s Ministry of Health.
You know the phrase: hope is not a plan. But hope is, in our line of work, a necessary ingredient and sometimes the “secret sauce.”
My time in Mirebalais, Cange, and Saint-Marc, our meetings with Haitian officials in the tiny trailer that now serves as the office of the country’s leading public health experts, and even yesterday’s commemorations of the two-year anniversary of the quake, gave me hope—hope worth sharing with all those who support a vision of building back better in Haiti.
To see, in Mirebalais, a lovely and gleaming hospital and medical campus taking shape across what was once a bit of broken terrain running from steep conical hills down to an unproductive rice paddy—more of a swamp, really—is a stirring image for any visitor.
Read "Two Years After the Quake" in its entirety.
Download a PDF of Paul Farmer's essay, "Two Years After the Quake".
Learn more about Mirebalais Hospital.
