Over the last half century, tens of thousands of men and women have labored around the world, providing assistance in state building, economic development, health and education to newly independent nations and to those recovering from the effects of totalitarian regimes, war, disease, famine and natural disasters. The goal: to create peaceful and prosperous nations.
In this personal and passionate work, Miles Wortman pays tribute to these unsung and valiant professionals, their passions, hopes and expectations.
There is joy and despair in these tales and memoirs that run across the continents, in war-torn Mozambique, revolutionary Albania, Asian sweatshops and Central American villages. There is success, sometimes transient, other times not. There are glimmers of hope, fresh sprouts amidst fallen leaves.
In the maelstrom of violence, poverty and disease that typify our time, amidst senseless bureaucratic obstacles and rapidly changing economic conditions, and charges of interference in domestic affairs, these professionals soldier on. No simple answers. Constant ethical dilemmas. They love and hate. They drink. They are corrupted. The stuff of life.
Free of orthodox ideologies and wistful idealism, these nuanced stories give life to those working to create a better world. They offer a rejoinder to both skeptics and idealists who believe international assistance has easy answers and panacea and who demand instant results.
In a world of want, there is constant and unmitigating struggle. Still, there is hope. This is the lesson of Leaves.
