Nearly 30 years ago, WiRED began with a small group of people who believed that a newly emerging technology, known as the Internet, could be used for something profoundly human: reconnecting people torn apart and isolated by war. What started as a handful of committed individuals soon grew into a community of volunteers, united by the conviction that knowledge, connection and compassion can change lives. Today, WiRED’s work centers on training and supporting community health workers, and it continues to be carried forward by volunteers who give their time and talents in service to people confronting the challenges to good health created by poverty and conflict.
The forces that have long undermined health in the world’s poorest communities have intensified sharply in the past year. Climate change increasingly threatens health in already vulnerable regions, while sweeping funding cuts have stripped millions of people of access to essential medicines and vaccines and further weakened fragile health systems. For families and communities, these losses are not abstract; they are experienced as untreated illness, preventable suffering and lives cut short. In the face of this deepening crisis, WiRED’s volunteers have responded with renewed resolve, strengthening collaboration to meet the growing needs of communities under extraordinary strain.
The essays that follow were written by those volunteers. Each offers a personal reflection on what it means to stand alongside others in times of great need. What it means to contribute, through education and every other means possible, to reducing suffering and sustaining hope. We invite you to read these essays as expressions of shared purpose and as reminders of what can happen when people choose to act together on behalf of others.
For nearly 30 years, WiRED’s volunteers have been providing health education to underserved communities around the world. In the coming months, we will reflect on a selection of our programs and activities that exemplify the core values and principles that have guided our work over the years.
My involvement with WiRED International began with a strong-arm recruitment by my late father, Richard R. Gilbert, D.D., a guiding force in the organization’s early days nearly 30 years ago.
I recall sitting in the Ben Linder Café in León, Nicaragua in 2002 with the directors of two American NGOs: Michael Lundquist, head of the Polus Center, and Dr. Gary Selnow, head of WiRED International. They were in León to discuss how their organizations could provide health and disability assistance to the local population in this part of Nicaragua.
As WiRED International approaches its 30th anniversary, we’re reminded not only of the organization’s longevity but of its enduring values — collaboration, service and unwavering commitment to communities in need.
I have always believed in the quiet power of people coming together for the good of others. That belief drew me to WiRED International and its mission to prevent disease and to serve those too often left behind.
As WiRED International approaches its 30th anniversary, I’ve found myself reflecting on the long arc of my relationship with this remarkable organization — a journey that began in my childhood and has grown into a meaningful part of my adult life.