It is difficult and heartbreaking each time we lose a key team member or people who inspired us deeply from a distance. Yet, we choose to remember their giving spirits and to share with others our gratitude for their contribution to constructive change in this world.
Peter MacArthur was a beloved teacher and a long time member of the all-volunteer Machik Canada team. Along with his equally committed wife Sandy, he was a positive force on the Machik Lindsay Dinner team for 17 years, sharing his time preparing for and during the event and also giving of his artistic talent with carved wooden pieces for auctions. We fondly remember Peter’s love for his family, his high spirits and his passion for his horses. We will always be grateful for Peter’s care and commitment to Tibetan children he never met, from a place he had not visited, which speaks volumes of his compassion for others.
It is still difficult to believe that we live in a world world without the insight and intellect of bell hooks and the inspirational action of Paul Farmer. Both carried unusual compassion in their all-too-short lives and reached millions. bell hooks (full name Gloria Watkins) was not only a radical thinker, beloved professor/teacher, prolific writer, and more, she was also deeply kind. In our short encounters with bell hooks, she was generous, thoughtful and supportive. We will always be grateful and amazed. Paul Farmer first inspired us when he ignored the global naysayers and managed to convince pharmaceutical companies to produced generic drugs for HIV/AIDS patients. He launched more against-the-grain public health work from there. Both taught grit and exuded a passion for learning. They came from ordinary backgrounds to do extraordinary work in service of others. They are giants who will be missed every day.
Peter MacArthur was a beloved teacher and a long time member of the all-volunteer Machik Canada team. Along with his equally committed wife Sandy, he was a positive force on the Machik Lindsay Dinner team for 17 years, sharing his time preparing for and during the event and also giving of his artistic talent with carved wooden pieces for auctions. We fondly remember Peter’s love for his family, his high spirits and his passion for his horses. We will always be grateful for Peter’s care and commitment to Tibetan children he never met, from a place he had not visited, which speaks volumes of his compassion for others.
It is still difficult to believe that we live in a world world without the insight and intellect of bell hooks and the inspirational action of Paul Farmer. Both carried unusual compassion in their all-too-short lives and reached millions. bell hooks (full name Gloria Watkins) was not only a radical thinker, beloved professor/teacher, prolific writer, and more, she was also deeply kind. In our short encounters with bell hooks, she was generous, thoughtful and supportive. We will always be grateful and amazed. Paul Farmer first inspired us when he ignored the global naysayers and managed to convince pharmaceutical companies to produced generic drugs for HIV/AIDS patients. He launched more against-the-grain public health work from there. Both taught grit and exuded a passion for learning. They came from ordinary backgrounds to do extraordinary work in service of others. They are giants who will be missed every day.
|
Peter MacArthur was a beloved teacher and a long time member of the all-volunteer Machik Canada team. Along with his equally committed wife Sandy, he was a positive force on the Machik Lindsay Dinner team for 17 years, sharing his time preparing for and during the event and also giving of his artistic talent with carved wooden pieces for auctions. We fondly remember Peter’s love for his family, his high spirits and his passion for his horses. We will always be grateful for Peter’s care and commitment to Tibetan children he never met, from a place he had not visited, which speaks volumes of his compassion for others.
|
|
bell hooks, or Gloria Watkins, was born to a working-class family in Kentucky and
became a true visionary, a fearless thinker, an innovative cultural theorist, inspiring public intellectual, feminist writer, and teacher. She passed away far too young at age 69 but in those years she looked bravely at intersections of many kinds of human suffering and explored ways for us all to not only understand but also to work and think beyond imposed limitations. Many will rightly remember bell hooks as an iconic teacher and writer but for many she was also a powerful healer who called in writing, art, music, and spirituality to find and share ways to reach our human potential. Her dozens of books are in 15 languages and include: Ain’t I a Woman: Black Women and Feminism (1981), Feminist Theory: From Margin to Center (1984), Black Looks: Race and Representation (1992); Reel to Real: Race, Sex and Class at the Movies (1996), a children’s book called Happy to Be Nappy (1999), and We Real Cool: Black Men and Masculinity (2004). |
|
Dr. Paul Farmer was social change maker who worked through medicine and anthropology
to change how public health is thought about globally. In 1987, he and Jim Young Kim – then medical students at Harvard - co-founded Partners in Health, a visionary nonprofit working globally. Farmer died far too young at age 62 but has reignited another generation of bright and caring people to devote themselves to alleviating suffering through health work. His life’s work began in Haiti and grew to include communities in the USA, Rwanda, Peru, and so on. The main goals were treating HIV/AIDS, multi-drug resistant TB, and more. While this work still continues around the world, what was unusual and especially inspiring about Paul Farmer was his ability to ignore almost universal critics who declared big pharma could not be made to lower key drug prices. He went ahead and lead the way to make it happen, benefitting millions here and around the world. |