Dr. James Orbinski

I am currently reading James Orbinski’s “An Imperfect Offering: Humanitarian Action in the Twenty-first Century” and am having trouble putting it down. Orbinski is one of the founders of the Canadian branch of Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders/MSF); in 1994 he served as Chef de Mission for MSF in Kigali, Rwanda during the horrific civil war and genocide.   As president of MSF, the doctor and humanitarian accepted the Nobel Peace Prize on their behalf in 1999; his remarkable Nobel Lecture is available here.

George Stroumboulopoulos interviewed Dr. Orbinski on CBC’s “The Hour”; watch it here.

CBC’s “Sunday” interviewed Dr. Orbinski about his new book; watch it here.

This link will take you to a radio interview with James Orbinski on CBC’s “Sounds Like Canada”.

CBC’s documentary, “Evil Revisited”, was awarded the 2005 Canadian Radio Television News Directors Association Award. Dr. Orbinski returns to Rwanda with CBC journalist Sasa Petricic in this incredibly moving piece.

Dr Orbinski is one of the founders of the Drugs for Neglected Diseases Initiative, a not-for-profit pharmaceutical research and development entity focused on the diseases of the South. He recently co-founded Dignitas, an organization focused on community based treatment, care and prevention of HIV in the developing world.

This book, and this man speak to me on a very deep level. Each of us is responsible for each other, and each of us needs to act. As Vikram Seth so eloquently puts it in his book, “Two Lives: a Memoir”:

“May we see that we could have been born as each other.”

Religious Harmony?

The documentary film “The Imam & the Pastor” from FLT Films is well worth watching.  A trailer of the film, as well as information is available here.

Here’s part of an excellent review from the web site Initiatives of Change:

“At a time when many in the world are wondering whether friendly relations are possible between those of Muslim and Christian background, the Nigerian protagonists of this film emphatically assert that they are.

In recent years, Nigeria has been rocked by ethnic and religious conflicts, with tens of thousands killed and whole communities devastated.

In the 1990s, Pastor James Wuye and Imam Muhammad Ashafa led opposing, armed militias, dedicated to defending their respective communities as violence broke out in Kaduna, northern Nigeria. In pitched battles, Pastor James lost his hand and Imam Ashafa’s spiritual mentor and two close relatives were killed.

Now the two men are co-directors of the Muslim-Christian Interfaith Mediation Centre in their city, leading task-forces to resolve conflicts across Nigeria.

The Imam and the Pastor tells how they made this remarkable transition. It is both a moving story of forgiveness and a case-study of a successful grass-roots initiative to rebuild communities torn apart by conflict.”

Barack Obama: Yes We Can

Will.i.am of the Black Eyed Peas was inspired to put Barack Obama’s “Yes We Can” speech to his music and produce this inspiring video. You also can view the video here, and also read his thoughts about being inspired to create it.

It was a creed written into the founding documents that declared the destiny of a nation.

Yes we can.

It was whispered by slaves and abolitionists as they blazed a trail toward freedom.

Yes we can.

It was sung by immigrants as they struck out from distant shores and
pioneers who pushed westward against an unforgiving wilderness.

Yes we can.

It was the call of workers who organized; women who reached for the
ballots; a President who chose the moon as our new frontier; and a King
who took us to the mountaintop and pointed the way to the Promised Land.

Yes we can to justice and equality.

Yes we can to opportunity and prosperity.

Yes we can heal this nation.

Yes we can repair this world.

Yes we can.

We know the battle ahead will be long, but always remember that no matter what obstacles stand in our way, nothing can stand in the way of the power of millions of voices calling for change.

We have been told we cannot do this by a chorus of cynics…they will only grow louder and more dissonant ……….. We’ve been asked to pause for a
reality check. We’ve been warned against offering the people of this
nation false hope.

But in the unlikely story that is America, there has never been anything false about hope.

Now the hopes of the little girl who goes to a crumbling school in Dillon
are the same as the dreams of the boy who learns on the streets of LA;
we will remember that there is something happening in America; that we
are not as divided as our politics suggests; that we are one people; we
are one nation; and together, we will begin the next great chapter in
the American story with three words that will ring from coast to coast;
from sea to shining sea –

Yes. We. Can.

A Gem From Paul Rogat Loeb’s “The Impossible Will Take a Little While”:

From “THE CURE AT TROY”

 

by Seamus Heaney

Human beings suffer,

They torture one another,

They get hurt and get hard.

No poem or play or song

Can fully right a wrong

Inflicted and endured.

The innocent in gaols

Beat on their bars together.

A hunger-striker’s father

Stands in the graveyard dumb.

The police widow in veils

Faints at the funeral home.

History says, Don’t Hope

On this side of the grave.

But then, once in a lifetime

The longed-for tidal wave

Of justice can rise up,

And hope and history rhyme.

So hope for a great sea-change

On the far side of revenge.

Believe that a further shore

Is reachable from here.

Believe in miracles

And cures and healing wells.

Call miracle self-healing:

The utter, self-revealing

Double-take of feeling.

If there’s fire on the mountain

Or lightning and storm

And a god speaks from the sky

That means someone is hearing

The outcry and the birth-cry

Of new life at its term…

[excerpted from Seamus Heaney, The Cure at Troy: A Version of Sophocles's Philocetes(Noonday Press, 1991)]

Sarah Chayes

Arghand Co-operative in Afghanistan is the brainchild of former war correspondent Sarah Chayes. Please read about Arghand here.

Staff Benda Bilili band

A politically active Congolese band made up of disabled musicians…read about them here. To watch the video, click the image below twice (you’ll be taken to the Youtube site to watch it). You’ll know why I find them inspiring when you watch and listen to them, and read about their story…

“The Ground Truth”

 

“The Ground Truth”, a documentary by filmmaker Patricia Foulkrod, is one of the most powerful documentaries I’ve seen in a long time. CBC Newsworld broadcast the film on March 18th.

 

Visit the AIM Ground Truth page here; it’s very interesting.

My kids and Nickelback…

My kids, who are very socially aware were thrilled to hear this song and see this music video. My 11 year old daughter couldn’t wait to show it to me.

I like that they can hear a song, enjoy it, and at the same time think about important social activists, regular people, and be gently reminded to think about what they can do to make the world better.

The video ends with one of our favourite quotations:

“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.” ~Margaret Mead

Give a Day - Jane Philpott

On her web site “Give a Day”, Canadian physician Jane Philpott answers a common question:

Q: Isn’t the situation of AIDS in Africa rather hopeless? What difference can we really hope to make?

Dr. Philpott’s Answer: There is a West African proverb which says: “The river may be wide, but it can be crossed.” There have been many situations in history when one might be tempted to despair that things would ever change. But in recent years we have witnessed the end of apartheid government in South Africa; the collapse of the Berlin wall; and peace accords in other long-standing conflicts. Yes, the crisis of AIDS in Africa is an exceptional one. Thus the response all over the world must also be exceptional. You can be a part of this worldwide response. Make a difference in your world. Give a day!

Please visit this dedicated woman’s site to learn more about her creative and progressive ideas. Listen to an interview of Dr. Philpott by Shelagh Rogers on CBC’s Sounds Like Canada.

Nick Anderson & Ana Slavin

Tired of waiting for others to change the world, these students did something about it:

Students should visit the Dollars for Darfur web site to learn more about how they can get involved.

Paying it forward

There are so many ways that each of us can help make the lives of others better, or happier. The “Pay it Forward Challenge” asks each of us to raise our awareness of others, and do something to spread kindness. Many people have come up with creative ideas in response…there are too many to list here, so just click on the link to watch and read about them! At this URL, you’ll find ideas on how you can make a difference to the lives of others.

Just a thought to keep:

~ Buddhist wisdom ~

When someone is wronged,
he must put aside
all resentment and say,
“My mind shall not be disturbed;
no angry word shall escape my lips;
I will remain kind and friendly,
with loving thoughts
and no secret spite”

Women fighting a “war on terror”:

Quigley and Retik

Patricia Quigley and Susan Retik are two American mothers who were widowed on 9/11. The two women have founded an organization “Beyond the 11th” to help widows and their families in Afghanistan.

“The situation for widows in Afghanistan is desperate. While the collapse of the Taliban has resulted in general improvement in the lives of women and girls, these new opportunities are still out of reach to the Afghan widows who lost their only means of support. Illiterate and unskilled, they struggle to provide the most basic of needs - shelter, food, and clothing - for their families. International relief organizations estimate that in Kabul alone, there are 30,000 - 50,000 widows, struggling to support an average of five children on less than $16 per month. In other parts of the country, the situation is even worse.”

Learn about the documentary made about these women, and listen to them speak about why they are doing this, here: Beyond the 11th: a Principle Pictures documentary

Dr. Daniel N. Paul

Daniel Paul’s book and extensive website are a gift to society, and should be required reading for all North Americans and Europeans. The book “We Were Not the Savages” is “a history of the near demise, caused by the European invasion of the Americas, of ancient democratic North American First Nations; with special focus on the Mi’kmaq, from a Mi’kmaq perspective.”

Please have a read!

Dance like no-one is watching!

I find it difficult to watch this without feeling inspired:

From wherethehellismatt.com: “At the end of 2005, Matt left on a 6 month trip through 39 countries on all 7 continents. In that time, he danced a great deal. Matt dances very badly, but most people don’t seem to mind. Matt is not rich. Matt also doesn’t have some magical secret for traveling cheaply. He does it pretty much the same way everybody else does.”

It seems that Matt Harding is still dancing, this time, with lots of company:  Where the Hell is Matt 2008

Dr.Chandrasekhar Sankurathri: Beauty out of tragedy and loss

Dr. Chandrasekhar Sankurathri, otherwise known as “Dr. Chandra”, lost his wife and two children in the tragic bombing of Air India Flight 182 from Canada to London in 1985. After three years of working through unbearable grief while employed as a government scientist in Ottawa, Dr. Chandra decided that he needed to “do something useful.”

Inspired by his late wife’s concern for the poor in her native India, Dr. Chandra opened the Sarada School – named for his daughter – in wife’s home state of Andhra Pradesh.

After school is over for the day, the school bus is busily picking up blind and nearly-blind patients awaiting free cataract surgery at the Srikiran Institute of Ophthalmology, named for Dr. Chandra’s son. India has about a quarter of the world’s blind! Staff of the hospital is local, and receives a small salary and room and board. Five opthamologists are paid $1,500 per month; each surgeon performs approximately 150 surgeries per day.

Read about this remarkable man and his work here and here.

Elie Wiesel: a voice for victims of oppression the world over

From the Nobel Prize site: Interview with Elie Wiesel, December 10, 2004. Interviewer is Professor Georg Klein.

“Elie Wiesel talks about his perspectives on the world after World War II, recollections of his time in concentration camp (5:33), the indifference of the world (12:35), antisemitism (16.34), the importance of education (22:06) and that the tragedy of the Holocaust could have been avoided (24:23).”

On the right hand side of this linked page, be sure to look for Mr. Wiesel’s Nobel Lecture, his biography, and links to other information regarding this remarkable man under “Other Resources”.

Using our gifts:

Ben Underwood, who lost both of his eyes due to cancer at the age of three, is a true inspiration…