PP & ME

At the start of the year, the world lost a moral giant. His name was Paul Pholeros.

He was an architect dedicated to people, his lifes work the pursuit of justice through environments. An architect who believed he had a responsibility to better people's lives, a duty to restore the earth he built upon. Thus when he was presented a challenge to improve the health of a community in the centre of the country in the late 80's, he joined a team and founded a company to fix the problem.... I was four years old.

It's 2007 and the work has extended from Australia and into Nepal, a village on the edge of Kathmandu valley asks for improved sanitation and health. I am an architecture student in my final year, about to design a women's hospital nearby. I am offered a job in his office and say yes. I am 24 years old. 

Fast forward almost 8 years and the work continues and spreads around the world. Poverty, not race, the incubator for poor living environments and the need for functioning health hardware as a solution.  The work continues but the problem still exists. I am 32 years old. My boss is gone.

Since his passing, I've needed to hide, lick wounds, and rebuild life to take on the challenge of stepping up and into the light that his presence has left behind. At times, desperate to maintain the momentum of change he had fuelled although frustrated at the grief, pain and doubt slowing me down. His loss has hit many, some harder than others. It still doesn't make sense but I know if we continue moving forward, a reason may present itself. 

Vale Paul Pholeros. You're with me now more than ever.

Hx

PP and Me taking a walk in Nepal, 2008

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