Public Health Workers Honored

The Institute for Health and Social Justice (IHSJ) recognized two community health care workers from Chiapas, Mexico, on Saturday for trying to improve health among the rural poor in the area while under threat of violence.

Julio Quinones and Blanca Jimenez received the Thomas J. White Prize in a ceremony in Science Center B. The prize was named in honor of White, a local philanthropist who graduated from Harvard in 1942.

It is awarded to individuals who have demonstrated exemplary concern at the community level for the health of the poor and a desire to uncover the sources of such inequity, said officials of the IHSJ, which is dedicated to improving the health of poor communities at the global level.

Those making the award described Quinones and Jimenez--founding members of Equipo de Apoyo En Saludy Educacion Comunitaria (EAPSEC) and largely self-trained health workers--as heroes who risked their lives to provide health services to the poor in Chiapas.

During the last 15 years the duo has trained hundreds of health workers in communities prone to violence, morbidity and mortality.

Quinones trained himself using the book Where There Is No Doctor while living among Mexican and Guatemalan refugees.

Despite instability and danger in the region, Quinones has organized at least 15 groups dedicated to improving health care.

While Quinones was not able to attend the ceremony, he sent a message through a friend that he shared the honor with all who worked to provide health services.

The symposium also praised Jimenez for playing an instrumental role in the coordination and structure of EAPSEC.

Jimenez's husband, Armando Mazariego-Paraz, who was co-founder of EAPSEC, disappeared in 1990.

At the time, Amnesty International released a statement expressing serious concern for the safety of Mazariego-Paraz, who witnesses said was forced into a van by four Guatemalan secret police.

Although such attempts to suppress health care work in the region heightened the risk involved, Jimnez continued to improve access to health care while searching for her husband.

She was forced to live with her children in a church for more than two years for their protection, said Jim Yong Kim, executive director of Partners in Health, in his introductory remarks.

As Jimenez came to the podium, tears made it difficult for her to speak.

"To be here with you and receive this award," she said, "it isn't just for me; it's for many people, the communities."

Paul Farmer, director of IHSJ, pointed to the word "veritas" hanging on the podium in front of him and asked, "How many times has somebody stood in front of this word and actually told the truth?"

"You can't always be on the winning side," he continued, "when you take a principled stance for the oppressed."

Bryan Stevenson, the featured speaker and the executive director of the Equal Justice Initiative of Alabama and a Harvard Law School alum, also praised the winners for their years of work. "Your fight," he said, "is what this legacy is all about."

Farmer helped begin the joint efforts of the IHSJ and the EAPSEC when he became the first MacArthur Fellow to donate his entire award to the health and education program.