Like Farmer

The quote about how we do not all have to be like Paul Farmer is clearly what this colloquium class is about in my view, “What PIH-ers should take from Paul wasn't a manual from their own lives but the proofs he'd created that seemingly intractable problems could be solved. […] 'Because if the poor have to wait for a lot of people like Paul to come along before they get good health care, they are totally fucked'" (244). Throughout this class, we are taught to become leaders and engage ourselves with the surrounding community. Like Paul Farmer, we created solutions to providing students with better meals and fresh fruits and vegetables. Instead of following Farmer as a manual, we have used him as a guide and made it possible for students to go glean and learn about where their food comes from. We often do not realize in this class that we are causing major changes within our community; we have created new methods for these students to get better lunches and such. A perfect example of this is Miguel, like Farmer, he did not have take on such a difficult position, but he did because he believes that there will be a positive outcome and that every student deserves healthier meals as with Farmer and every person should have available medical treatment. There are several examples that demonstrate how people take on responsibilities to help others. Ti Jean is one of these people, Farmer’s chief of staff, and “He has the right attributes. Ti Jean gives portions of his own salary to destitute patients. He has said, about Nation Highway 3, ‘I’d rather we have a fixed road and a hundred thousand extra patients a year, because it’s our vocation to receive them’” (281). There are plenty of people like Farmer that we have read about of encounters, each contributing to a greater change in the world.

-Stephanie Huynh