If you study history or even our present dispensation, you will discover countless ordinary people that have done extraordinary things. One of them is Dr Paul Farmer who passed away this year in his sleep while in Rwanda. Paul was an American medical anthropologist and physician who did his best to serve the cause of global health equity. In 1987, Farmer co-founded Partners in Health (PIH) in Haiti with the mission to provide high-quality care to patients from impoverished backgrounds and those living far from health care facilities. Over the next thirty years, PIH expanded to countries in Africa and Latin America and also to Russia and to the Navajo Nation in the United States. Farmer had a strong understanding of how health and poverty are interconnected. He once said “You have to look at what’s happening to the patient in front of you and think about ways to address social disparities. If there’s food insecurity, then you provide food when you provide care. Or if patients drop out of treatment, you provide transportation to the clinic, or you send community health workers to the patients.”  In 2020, he won the million-dollar Berggruen Prize for philosophy and culture, an award given to an individual who has made major contributions to advancing ideas that shape the world. Farmer however couldn’t have become a global health giant without first having moral clarity, purpose and strong belief that the poorest of the poor in places like Haiti and Rwanda deserved high-quality medical care. Also, Catholic theology had a significant role in shaping his vision for global health. A theology that enabled him to give generously and sacrificially to others of his time, love and possessions. And God used him to accomplish great things. Like He used Dr Paul Farmer, God also wants to use you to help address the problem(s) around you. Will you allow Him to use you? 

Credit (Dr Paul Farmer’s story): www.npr.org; www.americamagazine.org