We cannot commend him enough for his tireless commitment to aiding so many people in need!
Ever since last year's devastating earthquake in Haiti, celebrities such as director Paul Haggis, Maria Bello, Olivia Wilde, and countless others have completely immersed themselves firsthand in the struggle to rebuild the broken country.
Sean Penn, however, seems to have gone above and beyond, and a year later, admits that he has no plans to leave the country.
In fact, when he's not working, he will live in Haiti permanently - as the camp manager for 55,000 displaced residents!
He explains:
“There’s a great thing Paul Newman said about his long marriage. ‘As it turns out, we still love each other.’ That’s how I feel: ‘As it turns out, I’m still here.’ The amount we’re getting done, versus what they’re doing — which is nothing. Quite honestly, if you want something done, do it yourself. They said, ‘You can stay if you’re effective. If you stop being effective, we kick you out.’ I started paying for stuff, and that was when I thought, ‘OK, I better figure this out, because at this burn rate I’ll last about a week and a half.’ I didn’t have commitments, except for way in the future; I had nothing pressing. I got practical issues, like everybody. I had two federal cases against me at the time, and one criminal one. I had just got taken for one half of everything I had in the divorce, so it’s not like I don’t have to work. A much more profound change in life for me personally was not being able to raise my son in a whole family through high school. When I first came to Haiti, the decision was to go for two weeks. Let’s face it, I’m a person that feels pretty alienated from the rest of the world and never felt understood by anyone. There’s no end point. This is where I’ll be when I’m not working, for the rest of my life.”
Wow.
Say what you want about him, but we're completely blown away by his compassion and resilience!
It's one thing to cut a check - which is a wonderful gesture - but to immerse yourself in such hardship, and give up your life to help those in dire need?! Heroic!
Keep up the good work, bb! You have truly gone above and beyond in your efforts, and we know that there are thousands of lives grateful for what you've done!
Thoughts??
[Image via WENN.]
Tags: camp manager, charity, commitment, director, haiti, haitian relief effort, inspiration, maria bello, move, paul haggis, paul newman, permanent
