What to do about Haiti now?
My friends and I have been talking about Haiti. They are confused about where they should send their money so that it will bring relief to suffering Haitians immediately.
Partners in Health (PiH) has been providing medical care in Haiti for more than 20 years. Its original clinic, up in the mountains, was unaffected directly by the earthquake, although now people are walking up to it, carrying their injured and ill family members. PiH has facilities, supplies and medical personnel in Haiti already and has been able “to hit the ground running” in the relief effort.
Dr. Paul Farmer, the inspiration behind PiH, is a humanitarian genius. He has devoted his life to bringing modern medicine to impoverished people in nine countries, including Haiti.
I first learned about Farmer when I read Mountains Beyond Mountains, his inspiring biography by Tracy Kidder several years ago. I picked up the book because I had read Kidder’s earlier books and had decided to read more nonfiction since I had just started j-school.
The same year, out of the blue, a friend of mine gave me a donation to PiH as a Christmas gift, although she did not know that I had read Kidder’s book. Shortly afterwards, my husband and I received an invitation to a Harvard event where Farmer spoke, and we had a chance to meet him. We have been his admirers and supporters ever since.
A lucky string of coincidences!
Take a look at the Partners in Health Web site, which has been updated over the past few days to focus on Haiti, and join us!