When I learned about the 2021 Haiti earthquake, I wanted to support an organization whose work I knew I could trust. PIH immediately came to mind. I first learned about PIH during the time of the devastating 2010 earthquake. I was moved by Paul Farmer’s efforts to support the people of Haiti, and his passion for the community stuck with me.

As the child of Haitian immigrants, I feel deeply connected to the culture. I was grateful for the opportunity to give back by hosting the “Black Boston for Haiti” event, benefitting PIH’s earthquake relief efforts. Often, the media portrays the poorest communities as helpless and hopeless, but with PIH I see a different perspective—one in which the people of Haiti are equipped to actively engage in their own uplift with support from the diaspora.

Rachel and I have dedicated our careers to improving women and children’s health. We admire PIH’s approach of addressing health care disparities and the underlying structural and historical injustices that have led to them.

I first met Dr. Farmer in 2003 when I was a medical student at Boston Children’s Hospital, and his work helped inspire me to obtain my MPH degree in health policy. Dr. Farmer’s work also played a role in Rachel’s decision to pursue a master’s degree in medical anthropology. It seems strange to feel such a kinship to a man we hardly knew—what a testament to how inspirational Dr. Farmer was and continues to be.

I joined PIH Engage after reading Mountains Beyond Mountains. After that, I read everything I could find by Paul. I was struck by his ideas about pragmatic solidarity, accompaniment, and care. His dedication to equity and the excellence he achieved in its pursuit were unparalleled. PIH Engage embodies this mission by bringing brilliant young minds together in the fight for health equity.

Before joining the University of Washington PIH Engage team, I had never contacted my members of Congress. Now, I regularly communicate with several offices on key public health issues. I’ve trained advocates nationwide, spoken at a vaccine equity conference, and facilitated over 50 meetings with Congressional offices where Engagers discussed the most ambitious global health legislation introduced in Congress — the Paul Farmer Memorial Resolution. Our PIH Engage community never ceases to amaze me.

I read Mountains Beyond Mountains before going to medical school and was inspired to know that one person’s passion for helping others could blossom into a global movement. We visited University Hospital in Mirebalais when it was under construction and knew that our family wanted to play a role in ensuring people in the community could access lifesaving care.

We realize with our family situation and safety concerns in Haiti presently, the most impactful and sustainable way for us to support healthcare needs and promote health equity is as donors to PIH.

PIH has roots and commitment to the people of Haiti and refuses to turn their back on its mission. The PIH staff is resolute in their role in building local capacity and expertise. As an emergency physician, I want to help PIH bring the kind of care to the people of Haiti that I seek to provide to my patients in Central Florida.

I have traveled to PIH sites in Haiti, Liberia, and Rwanda, and seeing PIH’s impact on patients firsthand is incredible. The mission statement of The Haley Foundation includes support for maternal and child health and welfare. So visiting the maternal waiting home for new moms in Mirebalais, Haiti was especially powerful. The success of this important work is the reason I became a donor.

For the past few years, I have designated my donation to the Liberian effort. I was able to visit the maternal hospital in Liberia as it was being built and it has been wonderful to witness PIH serving moms and babies today! The gratitude shown by the patients brought tears to my eyes. Each PIH facility is built with beauty and comfort along with advanced medical care. I appreciate that respect for patients and their families always comes first.

There is nothing inevitable about the fact that women in Sierra Leone are hundreds of times more likely to die in childbirth than women giving birth in Germany or Sweden. That reality is the result of historical forces—enslavement, colonialism, racism, and war—and we know that this injustice has a cure. That’s why PIH is building the Maternal Center of Excellence at Koidu Government Hospital in Sierra Leone. The MCOE will radically reduce maternal and child mortality while also serving as a teaching hospital for the next generation of nurses, doctors, and midwives.

We really value the way PIH takes an expansive view of healthcare, acknowledging the role that nutrition, wellness, and mental health play in global health. One of us (John) has lived with serious mental illness his whole life, so seeing PIH expand access to mental health treatment is really heartening. The difference between PIH and other organizations is that PIH doesn’t just show up—they stay.

Takeda Pharmaceuticals has been a long-term supporter of PIH’s work in communities and is now partnering to build laboratory capacity across PIH’s global network. Through this knowledge-sharing partnership, Takeda will support PIH in its efforts to build diagnostic capacity in low-resource settings to provide more accurate, reliable, and timely diagnoses for patients and clinicians. Takeda and PIH staff will collaborate on concrete projects, benefitting from Takeda’s technical expertise, resourcing, and partnership—strengthening care delivery across PIH. Ultimately, well-equipped labs with trained and skilled staff and strong operational management systems will translate to better care for patients and stronger, more equitable health systems.