Re: Subprojects in Savannah

[Luis Falcon]

Good morning, Amin, all

On Tue, 01 Dec 2020 00:23:17 -0500
> 
> Thank you for your kind words, Luis; I really appreciate it.  I may
> seem to have been the 'key' person in moving this forward, but I'd
> like to give a shout out to the FSF sysadmins (e.g. Ian) and my
> fellow Savannah hackers (like Bob) who do so much great work, and
> whom I continue to learn from. :-)

Let me just share some reflections with you about "volunteers". Some
will stop reading here, or trim it because they might find it "out of
context". That is ok.

Over a decade ago, I founded a humanitarian NGO, GNU Solidario,
focused on Social Medicine. GNU Health is part of this social project.

During all these years, we've worked on projects in countries around
the world. I would say that the most rewarding and learning experiences
has come from the volunteers. What I have learned from these volunteers
is not taught at Computer Science or Medical school.

These volunteers are not in the mission don't think whether they "feel
like" risking their own lives jumping into the ocean
to save migrants; preventing and treating malaria, AIDS and
tuberculosis in the rain forest, or delivering dignity to the
underprivileged neighborhoods. For them, volunteering means commitment.

Dr. Rene Favaloro said "Medicine, without medical humanism does not
deserved to be practiced". Many times we can save lives, sometimes we
just can't, but we should always provide a helping hand. Volunteering in
the palliative care unit of a hospital taught me that medicine is also
holding the hand of the person in those very last moments of her life.

Volunteering can be tough, yet provides the most rewarding life 
experience. Many volunteers don't get money back, yet they commit
themselves to the cause as much (or even more) of paid professionals. In
the selfish world that we're living, blinded by greed and money,
volunteers are making the difference.

Lastly, key people are 'key', not because their technical
knowledge (which you have shown). Key people shine because their
empathy, respect to others, commitment, and willingness to help at the
right moment. Thank you for being a key person in the GNU project, a
project that means so much to us.

Best
Luis

-- 
Dr. Luis Falcon, MD, MSc
President, GNU Solidario
GNU Health: Freedom and Equity in Healthcare
www.gnuhealth.org
Fingerprint: ACBF C80F C891 631C 68AA 8DC8 C015 E1AE 0098 9199

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