Helping Others

This past week I had the good fortune to be able to hear Pulitzer Prize winning author Tracy Kidder speak at North Carolina State University.  Among other things, he discussed his recent book, Strength in What Remains, an incredible story about Deo, a man who escaped from war-torn Burundi, spent time as a homeless man in New York City, graduated from Columbia University, and eventually returned to his homeland to build medical clinics.  Tracy Kidder also wrote a book entitled Mountains Beyond Mountains about Dr. Paul Farmer, a man who has devoted his life to fighting infectious diseases, first in Haiti and then around the world. 

In the meantime, I picked up a book at the library - Be the Change by Lisa Endlich.  This book profiled several individuals who made fortunes and were in a position to spend the rest of their lives in extreme luxury.  Instead, they chose to give back to their communities and to the world.  These individuals included people like Bill and Melinda Gates, and Donna and Philip Berber.

All of the individuals featured in the above-named books are such an inspiration to me.  Although most of us could never fund a large program, we can do small things in big ways.  After all, Mother Teresa said you have to begin with the first person.  Several things I got from Endlich's book were:  you need to have passion about what you do; you need to research the organizations you support to see where the money is going and what impact you can make;  you need to ask benefactors "what do you need?" rather than deciding what you will give; and you need to realize that you will make mistakes - it's part of the learning process.

My experiences this week have made me more committed than ever to helping others, even in small ways.  The old cliche is true:  I feel I get much more out of it than I give.