Characters
Dr. Paul Farmer
Dr. Paul Farmer was born in 1959 into a middle-class family. He had five
siblings and often helped his father earn money as a child. They moved
frequently and even lived in Florida in a bus at one point. Paul did very well
in school. He was very bright and received a full scholarship to Duke
University, eventually graduating, and he later entered Harvard University,
graduating with a medical degree and a PhD in anthropology. Although Dr. Paul
Farmer has much to be proud of, he is a humble man who has worked diligently to
help the poorest of poor in Haiti. Mountains Beyond Mountains
highlights his life and the work he did—and continues to do—in Haiti.
Dr. farmer found himself in Haiti in 1983 while a student working in poor villages in the Central Plateau. Tracy Kidder met Farmer in 1983 while he was in Haiti and followed him around documenting his work with the villagers, which later culminated in Mountains Beyond Mountains.
In the book, Dr. Farmer's work in Haiti—and the passion with which he performs it—is explored and explained. He empathized with the poorest of Haiti and committed his life to seeking equal medical care for the poorest village in Haiti. They referred to him as "Doktè Paul," a saint in Haiti. After hist first stint in Haiti, he returned to Boston to earn his medical degree, but he never forgot the Haitians. He founded the charitable organization Partners in Health (PIH) to fund his project Zanmi Lasante, which includes a hospital for people in Cange, Haiti.
He married Dide Bertrand in 1996, the daughter of a Haitian teacher. He has spent his time traveling between Boston and Haiti for most of his life. When he is in Haiti, he helps the organization he founded; and when he is in Boston, he promotes his project in Haiti through fund-raising and networking with influential investors.
In 1991, when the Haitian army uprising deposed the government, Dr. Farmer could not go to Haiti for two months. He became depressed and wrote the book The Uses of Haiti to try and make people aware of the plight of the Haitians. He earned a MacArthur grant in 1993 for his dedication to humanity but he did not feel successful because the government was still persecuting the Haitians. Their poverty still existed while he was receiving accolades for his work. He was not at all comfortable with this situation.
He decided to focus most of his energy into influencing public health policy in the international arena. Later he received help from the Gates Foundation and the United Nations World Health Organization. In 1999, he was the subject of a profile in the New Yorker; then in 2003, Mountains Beyond Mountains by Kidder was released about him and his work.
Dr. Jim Kim
Dr. Jim Kim was born in Midwestern Iowa and was one of the only Koreans in his
small town. He attended the University of Iowa and then went to Brown
University. Following that, he attended Harvard University, where he met Dr.
Paul Farmer at PIH's office.
Dr. Jim Kim is one of the main characters in the book because he works alongside Dr. Farmer. He became involved in Dr. Farmer's mission, working with the PIH for many years. Later he realized the need for a center like Zanmi Lasante in Carabayllo, Peru. Dr. Kim studied Spanish and began to design a center in Peru. He sought out Paul's encouragement, but Dr. Farmer was hesitant. However, after investigating the situation himself, Farmer decided that he would use PIH...
(This entire section contains 1172 words.)
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funds to support the center in Peru. While trying to develop the medical center, Kim ran into trouble with the high cost of medicine. He lobbied in Washington to get generic drugs and lower prices for charities. He worked alongside members of the World Health Organization and was able to lower medical costs by ninety-seven percent so that charitable institutions could use their funds for serving the poor. In 2003, he changed his focus to be Sr. Advisor to the Director of WHO.
Father Fritz Lafontant
Father Lafontant was a Haitian priest who oversaw a Haitian clinic funded by a
church in South Carolina. He was helping the poorest people of Cange before Dr.
Farmer.
He is a main character in the book because he introduced Dr. Paul Farmer to the village, which later became the sight for Zanmi Lasante. Father Lafontant persuaded the local villagers to get statistics for Dr. Farmer. He also helped document what they needed for Dr. Farmer's plans for developing Zanmi Lasante.
He also helped by procuring funding from a church in South Carolina to install water faucets. This development changed the villagers' lives significantly.
In addition, Father Lafontant developed many community programs in the areas of literacy and women's concerns.
Tom White
Tom White was the owner of Boston's largest construction company. Educated at
Harvard University, he met Dr. Farmer through university affiliations. White
became involved in Farmer's project and donated money in 1984. White was
instrumental in funding Dr. Farmer's work in Haiti before Farmer founded
Partner's in Health (PIH). Later, White contributed to Dr. Farmer's
project by raising awareness among influential people.
Ophelia Dahl
Ophelia was Paul Farmer's first girlfriend. She also worked for a charity in
Haiti and was dedicated to improving the healthcare for Haitians. However, she
wanted to live in the United States or in England, not in Haiti. They broke up
but continued to work together for many years. Dahl helped Dr. Farmer
establish his project in Haiti and later took a job at PIH in Boston.
Didi Bertrand
Didi Bertrand is the wife of Paul Farmer. They were married in 1996, and they
have a daughter, Catherine.
Father Jack
Father Jack was the priest residing over St. Mary of the Angel's Church in
Massachusetts. Paul Farmer stayed with Father Jack during his time in medical
school. Father Jack served the church in Massachusetts and then moved to
Carabayllo, Peru, where Dr. Farmer's PIH funded a center. Father Jack died of
tuberculous.
Catherine
Catherine is Dr. Paul Farmer's daughter. In chapter 22 of Mountains Beyond
Mountains, Dr. Farmer attends his daughter's second birthday party in
Paris. He is dedicated to his daughter but equally dedicated to the Haitian
project he founded. He carried a photo of both his daughter and a young Haitian
girl of the same age.
Jean-Bertrand Aristide
Jean-Bertrand Aristide was Haiti's first elected Democratic official. However,
before his official election, he was a popular priest in Haiti. He believed in
liberation theology, and his interpretation of Christianity was supported by
Haiti's people. Dr. Paul Farmer supported him in the election.
Tracy Kidder
Tracy Kidder is the author of Mountains Beyond Mountains. Kidder
shadowed Dr. Farmer for a number of years, driving the back roads in Haiti and
attending meetings in Boston, then observing Dr. Farmer work with patients at
the Bringham and Women's Hospital in Boston.
Kidder has won a Pulitzer Prize (1982) and a National Book Award (1989) for his writing.
