This is the story of an effort to ease the world’s suffering. It begins with a man who dedicated his life and skill to save thousands through the use of his painless jet inoculator, helping to largely rid the earth of smallpox. The medical profession knew Dr. Robert Hingson as an inspired innovator. He invented a portable respirator anesthesia machine which is small enough to be carried in a doctor’s satchel. And he developed the method that relieves the suffering and danger of childbirth. With his painless “peace gun” and his untiring efforts, Dr. Hingson embarked on his utopian dream of a world cleansed of such dread diseases as smallpox, leprosy, yellow fever, measles, and cholera. In so doing he created a charity, Brother’s Brother Foundation, that today carries his standard embodied in its motto: “Connecting People’s Resources with People’s Needs.” Over the decades, this foundation has adapted its mission to the world’s most pressing problems, becoming a leader first in seed distribution and educational book delivery, as well as pharmaceuticals, later in medical supplies and equipment. Today, the charity has grown from humble origins into a distributor of hundreds of millions of dollars annually in aid to an average of sixty countries. And for the past half century, Brother’s Brother Foundation has brought relief to millions affected by flood and famine, earthquake and epidemic. It has widened its reach and operations, poised to expand its role in responding to humanitarian and natural disasters. All based on Dr. Hingson’s vision of the world as our neighborhood and humanity as our neighbor.
