Photo taken in Cape Town, South Africa
So what is this all about...
For approximately 11 months, as part of a traveling fellowship, I have had the privilege of traveling to 22 countries in an immersion of the issues around death, dying and the reality of mortality. Upon returning to the United States, the saturation of information and awareness of so many possibilities and beautiful perspectives that can help us to not just die well but to live well was a bit overwhelming. At the same time, I grappled with the questions: how to make use of information? What does the world need in terms of end of life care? With so much data and many possibilities, how can I make sense of this information? What now?
So, in response to my own questions, I have organized this website as a spin off of my 2015-2016 Keegan Traveling Fellowship (http://cccwalk27.wix.com/of-infinite-worth) to synthesize and make available in one, easy to navigate site to more effectively engage as a world in this delicate and universal subject of our own mortality. This is not an all encompassing site to provide everything you need to prepare for and grapple with death and dying, but rather a resource to begin the conversation, to give helpful tips and knowledge and best practices found around the world through non-threatening means. I can truly vouch that after 22 countries, being up close with death, that though death can be scary, an unknown, and though it cannot be controlled or prevented, engaging with mortality can lead to amazing and creative care giving, healing and reconciliation, truly a changed perspective on life. G.K. Chesterton wrote that "what is wrong with [the world] is that we do not ask what is right." I hope that this simple website will allow for a greater mindfulness in caring for the dying and will display the awesome power of international ideas exchange. There is so much that is indeed right in the world. |
Purpose and Personal MissionOverarching goals of my fellowship were as follows:
After 22 countries, my understanding of the value of human life has expanded. As I viewed the inviolable dignity of life in the context or greater framework of death, this worth spread beyond the health care setting into homes, the streets, social issues of poverty, gender inequality, genocide and displacement. This brought the further insight that how we, ourselves, our communities, cultures and governments, respect and value the gift of the life of the human person in its most vulnerable season, the end of life, reflects a great deal on our societies as a whole, on every aspect of our lives. But more beautifully how the developing creativity and innovation when caring for the dying not only exalts the life of the person dying but the life of the care giver as well. I titled this project from the beginning: Dignified Life and Death: A Global Perspective on End of Life Care and Decision Making and it became just that... an immersion into the worth and dignity of the human life through the context of the universal reality of death. |
Pittsburgh, PA USA
Hamilton, ON Canada Belo Horizonte, Brazil Wolverhampton, England UK Dolgellau, Wales UK Cork, Ireland |
Paris & Lisieux, France
Koln, Germany Brussels, Belgium Zurich & Feldbach, Switzerland Rome, Italy Stockholm, Sweden |
Vienna, Austria
Brno & Prague, Czech Republic Krakow & Warsaw, Poland Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, Israel Ramallah & Bethlehem, Palestine Dassa-Zoume & Cotonou, Benin |
Johannesburg, South Africa
Kolkata, India Bayombong, The Philippines Okayama, Japan Sydney, Australia Portland OR, USA |
Quick Rationale
Due to the universality of death and dying, as I planned this year of travel I recognized that any country I traveled to would bring value to this project which lent my experiences to become vastly diverse. Thus the rationale for selecting each country and city was unique and a combination of fortunate connections, flexibility and intentionality due to certain laws or cultural values which are known to have influenced care for the dying in those areas.
In the cases of Canada, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Israel and Australia, I was put in contact with various health care professionals in those countries through an advisor at Vanderbilt. Belgium, Canada and Portland, USA were specifically chosen due to the laws and debates around euthanasia, while Israel was selected due to the research on how cultures and religion effects end of life care. Brazil, Benin, South Africa and the Philippines were selected due to connecting with the wonderful fellows at Humphrey Fellowship Program at Vanderbilt, where fellows from around the world come to study in US universities for a year then return to implement and adapt their newly acquired skill sets to their own communities in order to promote intercultural learning and best practices around the world. England was selected as it was the first area with hospice care in the world, Ireland because I had already had connections there through a previous internship, Sweden was selected through a connection through another Vanderbilt and Keegan Fellow alumni, and Switzerland because it was the home of Elizabeth Kubler-Ross, another seminal writer in the field of hospice and bereavement care. Wales, France, Germany, Italy, Austria, Poland and Palestine were visited sporadically as plans changed and opportunities emerged during my travels and I needed to be creative and flexible with my time. India was selected due to Kolkata being the original location of Blessed Mother Teresa's Homes for the Dying and Destitute. Finally, Japan was selected due to its historical culture of honoring one's elderly and ancestors as well as having a very long life expectancy though ironically also having the highest suicide rate in the world.
Of course many other locations could have been selected but I was limited due to my resources, sometimes difficulties in communication or simply red tape which would prevent me from observing certain environments. Given these circumstances, it was always my goal to maintain true to my purpose of immersing myself in each culture even for the brief periods of time I found myself in each location in order to understand the perspectives on death and dying, the struggles faced throughout the world and how human life is valued and viewed. (Though of course I had many opportunities to experience life and cultures outside of the experiences of death and dying as well).
In the cases of Canada, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Israel and Australia, I was put in contact with various health care professionals in those countries through an advisor at Vanderbilt. Belgium, Canada and Portland, USA were specifically chosen due to the laws and debates around euthanasia, while Israel was selected due to the research on how cultures and religion effects end of life care. Brazil, Benin, South Africa and the Philippines were selected due to connecting with the wonderful fellows at Humphrey Fellowship Program at Vanderbilt, where fellows from around the world come to study in US universities for a year then return to implement and adapt their newly acquired skill sets to their own communities in order to promote intercultural learning and best practices around the world. England was selected as it was the first area with hospice care in the world, Ireland because I had already had connections there through a previous internship, Sweden was selected through a connection through another Vanderbilt and Keegan Fellow alumni, and Switzerland because it was the home of Elizabeth Kubler-Ross, another seminal writer in the field of hospice and bereavement care. Wales, France, Germany, Italy, Austria, Poland and Palestine were visited sporadically as plans changed and opportunities emerged during my travels and I needed to be creative and flexible with my time. India was selected due to Kolkata being the original location of Blessed Mother Teresa's Homes for the Dying and Destitute. Finally, Japan was selected due to its historical culture of honoring one's elderly and ancestors as well as having a very long life expectancy though ironically also having the highest suicide rate in the world.
Of course many other locations could have been selected but I was limited due to my resources, sometimes difficulties in communication or simply red tape which would prevent me from observing certain environments. Given these circumstances, it was always my goal to maintain true to my purpose of immersing myself in each culture even for the brief periods of time I found myself in each location in order to understand the perspectives on death and dying, the struggles faced throughout the world and how human life is valued and viewed. (Though of course I had many opportunities to experience life and cultures outside of the experiences of death and dying as well).