Fetch
I am a fan of the writer Tracy Kidder (The Soul of a New Machine, House) and a few years ago I picked up his then-latest book, Mountains Beyond Mountains. It tells the story of a doctor, Paul Farmer, who (along with friends Ophelia Dahl and Jim Yong Kim) created an organization called Partners In Health. PIH was founded to deliver high quality health care to the people of Haiti’s Central Plateau. Working with the people of Haiti, PIH’s efforts there have grown from a single clinic in 1985 to a system of hospitals, clinics, and community health workers that provided 2.6 million patient visits in 2009, all of them free of charge. It is a moving and inspiring story that convinced me to become a financial supporter of PIH’s work.
In the aftermath of the earthquake that struck Port-au-Prince on January 12, 2010, Partners In Health is perhaps the largest functioning medical provider left in Haiti. Their own facilities are far enough from the epicenter to have escaped serious damage, and their trained medical teams have been working around the clock to treat survivors. If they can afford to purchase the supplies they need, they will be able to save thousands of lives, not only from earthquake injuries, but also from the infections and other public health threats that will emerge in the weeks and months ahead.
To help make that happen, Fetch Softworks is one of nearly 150 independent Mac and iPhone developers participating in Indie+Relief, a group fundraiser for Haiti. If you purchase a Fetch 5.5 license on Wednesday, January 20, 2010, 100% of the proceeds will be donated to Partners In Health. If you already have a Fetch license, please take a look at the other applications that are for sale: you can pick up a great app and help Haiti at the same time. And if you do not need any software, please visit the PIH website, learn more about their work, make a donation, and spread the word.
Many thanks to Justin Williams of Second Gear Software for organizing Indie+Relief.
UPDATE: Thank you to everyone who purchased Fetch 5.5 yesterday — you raised $3,742 for Partners In Health!
I appreciate your efforts for Haiti. If possible, I am authorizing you to charge my credit card for an additional $20US to be added to your contribution to Partners in Health.
We don’t keep customer credit card numbers, so we can’t charge your card, but I would encourage you to go to pih.org to make a donation directly. Thanks!