The Peace Abbey - News and Events

Writer, performer and storyteller, Ellen Kushner for her wondrous series "Sound and Spirit" which explores the human spirit through music and ideas. The presentation will be at the Abbey in the spring of 2009. This will be an opportunity for those in the Boston who have been touched by Ellen's creative work over the years to publicly applaud her contribution as we claim the unique privilege of presenting her with the Peace Abbey Courage of Conscience Award. Limited seating.

As a high school senior and someone who is in a formative life stage it is an honor to meet and present Dr. Paul Farmer and Partners in Health with the Courage of Conscience Award. For the past twenty- five years you have made it your life's work to provide free health care to all people in some of the poorest regions of the world. Your commitment to human rights formed your belief that no individual should die of a treatable disease. Partners in Health was founded in 1987 with a philosophy that made social justice central to public health. In a world wrought with disease and poverty, your determination and approach to community health care is truly incredible. You have said very simply: "the well should take care of the sick." And so community health care workers are employed and paid to visit patients every day to make sure they are taking their medications so they can live longer, healthier lives.

Also incredible to me is the story of your life journey. Following a childhood on a bus and a river boat, you went on to Duke University and Harvard Medical School: and from the perspective of a current college applicant, that in itself is no small feat. It would have been far too easy for you to then relax into a high-paid and highly powerful position in the American Medical world. However, you went where you felt needed most, holding true to your strong ideals of social justice and equality. For these ideals and actions you are an inspiration for my young generation, as well as generations to come. Today, the scope of Partners in Health serves as a testament to the power of a grassroots movement in the field of health care. It now serves 9 countries, and has 6,000 employees worldwide. When asked how many lives the program has saved, you replied with the acronym TNTC, or too numerous to count. We too, like Dr. Paul Farmer and Partners in Health, must find it in ourselves to channel the courage of our consciences into the protection of health care as a universal human right. We thank you for your vision, your continued work for all our brothers and sisters and for being with us tonight.