Review Of Tracy Kidder's Mountains Beyond Mountains

In the book “Monique and the Mango Rains,” by Kris Holloway, a woman from United States, was influenced by a young woman named Monique Dembele during her time serving as a volunteer Peace Corps in Mali, West Africa in 1989-1991. Monique, a young Malian woman, became a midwife in a country where healthcare was almost non-existence. In this autobiographical account tells the story of Monique from the view of the Author as she gets to know her and the city. They became friends and mention how she was able to witness and assist Monique delivered numerous births throughout the village. The author mentions that during her time in Mali her biggest concern was healthcare and fighting for women’s rights. This is also an example of how males using their gender role to control the woman in their lives.

She paints readers the vivid picture of children sleeping in piles like dogs on dirt floors, mothers who brewed alcohol to make money feeding their children the mash from which it is made to dull the pain of starvation, and crowds of people who haven’t eaten for days fighting like savages to access a pot of beans. She admits that many times she felt overwhelmed at the work there is to do. This portion of the book reminded me of my mission trip to Guatemala during my freshman year of college. On the day our group went to the local street market, I had dozens of villagers following me around the market, begging me to buy their product. I ended up using all of my money that day because I had such a hard time saying “no” to these people. I remembering collapsing on my bed that afternoon, mentally exhausted and heartbroken because I could not do more for the villagers who really needed the money to feed their families. Connecting this memory with Katie’s experience brings me the understanding that in the social work field, as well throughout life in general, we cannot reach every person who needs our help, no matter how hard we try. What we can control is the love we show the people we interact with and the action we put into making a

The novel Across a Hundred Mountains by Reyna Grande is a story about two young girls and their struggling journey to find happiness between two conflicting and distinct worlds: the United States and Mexico. Juana on one side wants to get to the United States, or “el otro lado” as mentioned in the novel, to find her father who abandoned her and her mother after leaving to find work in the US. On the other hand Adelina escapes from her house in California to follow her lover to Mexico. The girls form a bond in the most unexpected of places, a Tijuana jail, and quickly form a friendship that will connect them for the rest of their lives.

“The only real nation is humanity” (Farmer 123). This quote represents a huge message that is received in, Tracy Kidder’s, Mountains Beyond Mountains. This book argues that universal healthcare is a right and not a privilege. Kidder’s book also shows the audience that every individual, no matter what the circumstances, is entitled to receive quality health care. In the book Kidder represents, Paul Farmer, a man who spends his entire life determined to improve the health care of impoverished areas around the world, namely Haiti, one of the poorest nations in the world. By doing this the audience learns of the horrible circumstances, and the lack of quality health care that nations like Haiti

“Things had rapidly changed in a matter of seconds and no one had any control over anything” (Beah 29). Ishmael Beah’s harrowing story about what it meant to be a rebel during the war in Sierra Leone is disturbing and unfathomable. For him, killing was a second nature and he considered the war to be as addictive as cocaine and marijuana. Unlike A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier, Mariatu Kamara’s story is told from a completely different perspective. In The Bite of the Mango, she describes having her hands chopped off by the rebels and became impregnated by her uncle’s close friend. With the help of journalism, Mariatu’s story was heard globally. At the end of the book, she learns how to use her voice as a catalyst for good and

In 2009 one young man changed the lives of thousands by telling his story of hardship, survival and innovation to the world. The book, "The Boy Who Harnessed The Wind" by William Kamkwamba reveals in great detail the complete blindness that our western society possesses regarding the truth of life on the continent of Africa. As citizens of the western world we have a tendency to see only the statistics and politics of the wars, famines and disasters that occur in developing countries while failing to even consider the human beings struck down by them. In this detachment we pass judgement upon the entire nation as a whole, forgetting the millions who do more in a single day with what little they have than we do with our abundance in a

Many contemporary stories today contain characters that attempt to achieve their goal through love and compassion. This is a large contrast to the heroes seen in ancient epics who achieve their goals through violence or their own physical actions. It might be because what audiences today value most in role models is much different than what audiences who lived centuries ago valued. Nowadays, people strive to see characters focus on loving and taking care of others to get what they want. In fact, people can gain this satisfaction through people they can possibly meet in real life. Tracy Kidder, the author of the book Mountains Beyond Mountains, introduces his audiences to Dr. Paul Farmer, a man accountable for his tremendous work for his

Leaving the comforts of the first world, Jessica Alexander abandons her job, fiancé, family, and home to venture into the misleading volunteer work of Humanitarian aid. Chasing Chaos: My Decade In and Out of Humanitarian Aid by Jessica Alexander is a conglomeration of stories that are written from Jessica’s memory. “It is a true account based on [Jessica’s] best recollections of the events and [her] experiences.”.

My most prominent passion is my desire to eradicate the problems of world poverty and hunger. The summer following my freshman year, I was accepted onto World Vision’s Famine Study Tour, which took my through the Andes Mountains of Peru to observe the damaging effects of poverty and the way they are combatted. I learned all the methods used by humanitarian organizations to ameliorate these desolate communities, opening my eyes to the fact that, although the problem of global hunger is daunting, it can and will be solved. More importantly, I learned the true nature of the people affected by such grave situations and circumstances. The individuals I met and spoke to were some of the most generous and

Since the start of the Sierra Leonean war in March of 1991, innocent civilians have been the primary target of the Revolutionary United Front (RUF)’s wrath. The people of Sierra Leone have faced significant problems due to the invasions and attacks by the Rebel Forces and are the main population that is being affected by this group’s disapproval of the government. One person who experienced profound changes in her life due to the start of this war is Mariatu Kamara, a victim of a Rebel attack that cost her both her childhood and her hands. Throughout her memoir, “The Bite of the Mango,” she is faced with numerous traumatic events and meets an abundance of people who were very significant in her life and some of whom helped her survive the war. Kamara also gives the reader a variety of themes to use as a foundation to understanding war life, which also serve to help readers learn more about life, grow as people, and rise above to help others in need. Mariatu Kamara has not only changed the lives of people all throughout Sierra Leone by giving them a voice and an outlet to share their experiences, but has also proved to be an inspiration for countless amputees around the world.

Gail Dines’s book Pornland: How Porn Has Hijacked Our Sexuality (Beacon Press, 2011) is about how porn is affecting our lives and why it's presence is damaging to our sexual freedom. Her point of view is just one point of view but it's very thought provoking and it makes you question a lot of things. A lot of things that you wouldn't generally think of. Some may not agree with her point-of-view because of her “anti-porn” agenda, but in this book Dine makes a fair amount of valid points.

8. Do you have sympathy or empathy for the wife of Don Elias, Dona Matilde?

The Red Umbrella by Christina Diaz Gonzalez and A 'Band-Aid' for 800 Children by Eli Sastow

The following week, we spent most of our time in the poorest parts of the city. There we went door-to-door sharing the love of God and had Vacation Bible Schools for the kids. This is when I realized how blessed I truly was. For the first time, I got to see the privations and penury environment that the citizens of Third World countries had to endure. The unpaved streets were covered in trash. Many houses, made of tin sheets, had collapsed on themselves. The people had to share wells, where they drew their parasitic water. Men, women, and children sat on the sides of the roads begging for money, because they were sick, hungry, and needed money for food and proper medication. The site of these atrocious states of living broke my heart, and showed me how blessed I really was for not having to face these problems.

Scrambling for Africa takes the reader through Crane’s journey from her first interaction with an HIV/AIDS patient in