Jim Kim and there's hope in the world

I've always been really doubtful about the World Bank's potential to do good (the conditions it puts on loans for developing countries tend to be ideological and based around its aim, as a bank, to be paid back and to stay in the black -- more than they are ever about the country's long-run economic development and poorest populations).  For example, the condition of austerity usually means the education budget gets cut.

But, now, Obama has nominated Jim Kim, co-founder of Partners in Health (alongside other co-founder and awesome person Paul Farmer), to be the new head of the World Bank---see below email for more info.  A few years ago, Obama also tried to put Paul Farmer in charge of USAID, but Farmer declined, not wanting to deal with the bureaucratic and political red tape.

If you've read Mountains Beyond Mountains or followed the news about Haiti after the earthquake, you may aslo know how awesome Partners in Heath is.  It's really a model organization.  And both Jim Kim and Paul Farmer have the best intentions...their constant mission is justice, helping the poor at all costs.  PIH, in its early days, in a Robin Hood like mission, "borrowed" medical supplies from either Harvard or Brigham and Women's Hospital (can't remember which) to take down to Haiti to treat the poor.  They also fought long and hard to get multi-drug-resistant tuberculosis on the WHO list of treatable diseases.  After they succeeded, the price of drugs plummeted, finally making it possible for the poor in developing countries to access them.

More than anything, to me, this is an example of Obama's commitment.  The World Bank has always been led by insiders -- except for the very noble Joseph Stiglitz, who was forced to resign as Chief Economist when others in the Bank frowned on his agreement with protesters them that brand of "free trade" in place today (which is really tilted towards the US and other advanced nations) and IP rights harm poor countries and keep people in poverty.  THIS appointment of Jim Kim, to me, is a demonstration that FINALLY someone is trying to do the right thing.  He's smart, he's not a US puppet, he's got his eye on the right ball - fighting poverty.

Good job, Obama.  You have my vote.

Development is just one part of it...

I think a lot of people think of the field of development as an "aside."  It's an extra topic, thrown in after everyone is done talking about "the economy," "national security," and "oil prices."

But, in reality, studying development - and everything that goes with it, including poverty, malnutrition, lagging/unequal health and educations systems, the middle class (or decline of it) - is like uncovering the symptoms and struggles that underlie a much bigger problem: a broken U.S. (and global) economy.

Green, Part 2

Well, we have come full-circle.  I'm back in the States, recovering from some pretty extreme allergy symptoms.  Once the mold, or trees, or grass, or dust (I still don't know which) started to affect my breathing and my throat, I knew it was best for my health to leave Vara Blanca.

Flying home, I had time to stop in the airport for a huge salad -- which was also much needed.  As I practically inhaled my food, I realized the only green things I had eaten during my month in Costa Rica were a bowl of green beans and 2 avocados.  I'm definitely used to eating so much more than that!

Being here for just a few days now, I'm definitely glad to be home.  I can finally breathe through my nose, for the first time in weeks!  And, the rest of my body seems to be returning to normal function and, perhaps most importantly, my energy is back!

I'm also really glad I went.  I never would have gained the perspective I have now without going to Costa Rica in the first place, even if my trip was cut down to just 4 weeks. 

Seeing through other peoples' eyes

I may be going back to the States early.  My allergies have gotten so bad here that sometimes it's hard to breathe - and that's not a good sign.  So in case I leave earlier than planned, I wanted to remark on something that I have found to be especially beautiful in my time here.

Even being here for just three and a half weeks, I have come to understand the workings of this community, the daily reality of peoples' lives here - if not completely, at least a little bit.  This is not the beachy, fun, easy part of Costa Rica.  We are up in the mountains, where it rains all the time, and the ground is covered in mud, and there are few government services, sometimes the water goes out, the roads are still in disrepair from the earthquake, some people still don't have homes.  There are a lot of things that could leave a lot of people dissatisfied, always wanting more, better.

One of the girls who goes to the ADE school, Kati, has really bad allergies too.  But she just lives here, and goes on.  One of my friends, Lidia, who I lived with for my first few days here in Costa Rica, told me all about her life and, man, has it been tough.  She has had thirteen surgeries, all far away from her home, in a hospital down in the city.  There was even an earthquake during one of her stays in the hospital.  After she told me about all the things she has been through, she told me that she never once thought to herself, "Why me, God?  Why me?"

Pura Vida, Pumas, and Living in the Mist

Whenever you move somewhere new, you have the incredible opportunity to experience strange and novel things.  This past weekend was the region's first-ever strawberry festival and ADE hosted a dessert-making competition, an eating competition, and a "strawberry war" (think paintball with rotten strawberries as ammunition) to raise money for the school.  It was really cool to see so many people from the community making food, selling trinkets, and having a great time.  The people here have rough, unglamorous lives, but still manage to celebrate living in the moment, express gratitude for all they have, and share themselves fully with others -- an attitude known in Costa Rica as "pura vida."