Mail Call: A Burst of Innovative Global Giving Pays Off

Readers hailed the health initiatives and proposals in our cover story "How to Heal The World." "Helping spread technology to students in poor countries by giving them $200 solar-powered laptops is a great idea," one wrote. Another praised an initiative that awards a large financial prize for democratic leaders in Africa, noting that "it encourages them to promote the good of their countries rather than serve themselves." But some also urged caution. "Keeping HIV-positive people alive, eliminating malaria … and pouring additional millions into fighting tuberculosis is laudable only if such programs are accompanied by contraceptives and education," one wrote. Another asked, "Would new medicines to end the health plagues of the world truly be a blessing if the resulting burst in the surviving populations place such demands on food and shelter as to create far more complex problems than already exist?"

The Making of a Candidate

I am an American running for president, not a Mormon running for president, but I am also very proud of my faith. And I am not a cafeteria Mormon, choosing some parts to accept and reject—I am "true blue, through and through." My family and I are better people and far happier than we would have been without our faith. It is puzzling that when NEWSWEEK looks at me ("A Mormon's Journey: The Making of Mitt Romney," Oct. 8) what you mostly see is a Mormon. I would have thought that more important to my potential presidency would be my record as a governor, 25-year business leader, Olympic CEO, father, husband—and American.
Mitt Romney
Belmont, Mass.

Healing the World

The stories of children suffering from AIDS and malaria in Africa ("How to Heal the World," Oct. 1) are heartbreaking. Equally heartbreaking are the stories of children suffering from diseases such as cancer right here in our own backyard. Are they more deserving of a cure than children halfway around the world? Certainly not, but when I see our government cutting cancer-research funding in the United States while proposing $30 billion to fight AIDS in Africa, I can't help but wonder where its priorities lie. Because of these cuts, the clinical trial that is keeping alive my son and countless other children suffering from cancer may not get the funding needed to continue. Hundreds of children will not get the lifesaving treatment they so deserve. Before we try to "heal the world," maybe we should start with healing a little closer to home.
Randy Lea
Fredericksburg, Va.

After reading "how to heal the World," I am again struck by the conundrum: if we keep the children alive, and they become adults, how will we feed them? Certain continents are scarcely arable for thousands of square miles, devoid of firewood and incapable of supporting the present population. Are we thwarting what anthropologists have discovered, that populations migrate in search of food? It looks as if our humanity and generosity have run ahead of basic survival needs. And that says nothing about greedy rulers sucking out much of our charity.
Donald Ford
New Braunfels, Texas