Help for Haiti

Generally this blog is about literacy. But every now and then I blog about other important topics. This is one.

If you're like me, you might have wondered what you can possibly do to provide assistance in the wake of the disaster in Haiti. This week I found an answer in Donna Earnhardt's blog. She wrote about the health kits that UMCOR is assembling and distributing. Here are the instructions:

For individuals or groups that want to contribute basic necessities, UMCOR requests that the following NEW items be placed in a sealed one-gallon plastic bag.

1 hand towel (15” x 25” up to 17” x 27”. No kitchen towels.
1 washcloth
1 comb (large and sturdy, not pocket-sized)
1 nail file or fingernail clippers (no emery boards or toenail clippers)
1 bath-size bar of soap (3 oz. and up)
1 toothbrush (single brushes only in original wrapper, no child-size brushes)
6 adhesive plastic strip sterile bandages
$1.00 to purchase toothpaste
(NOTE: Toothpaste is purchased in bulk to be added to health kits to ensure that the product does not expire before they are sent.)

Because the emergency kits are carefully planned to make them usable in the greatest number of situations and strict rules govern product entry into international countries, UMCOR requires that the kits contain only the requested items – nothing more. In Charlotte, NC you can drop off assembled kits at: Mount Olivet UMC, 301 Mount Olivet Road, Concord, NC or at St. Stephen's United Methodist. Shipping instructions are also online here.

If my 85-year-old mother can assist in providing help to Haiti, what can you do?

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Haiti, health kids
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Help for Haiti

“Cupboards were nearly bare before the winds started whipping, the skies opened, and this seaside city filled like a cauldron with thick, brown, smelly muck.”- Marc Lacey

Storms heighten Haiti’s suffering, Charlotte Observer, September 12, 2008.

I used that quote this fall to demonstrate to teachers how image-driven writing should include specific nouns ("cupboards, seaside city, cauldron"); image driven adjectives ("thick, brown, smelly muck"); and figurative language ("winds whipped") to grab a reader's attention.

I didn't know then that I would be able to participate in an opportunity to help the people of Haiti. As followers of this blog know, I generally blog about issues related to literacy. Today I'm taking a detour to let you know what I did yesterday instead of write.

Covenant Day School, a ministry of Christ Covenant Church, announced last week that they were working with the church to provide volunteers, medical goods, and clothing to help fill up a 53-foot trailer. The school specifically helps a school in Gonaives and some of the Crocs, medical supplies, and school supplies were going directly to orphans there.

When I arrived yesterday afternoon, this is what the trailer looked like on the inside:

I had the opportunity to not only interview Della and her father, but I also spoke with Susie Austin who has traveled to Haiti several times. She is returning in February to give hygiene training in three areas: hair care (so they don't get scabies), oral hygiene, and using Clorox to disinfect the children's bedding. Bed wetting is a big problem because there is no indoor plumbing and the children are afraid to go outside at night (tarantulas and the dark are two common enemies). Shoes are extremely important because without them, the children frequently get worms (intestinal parasites) and sand fleas.

A high point of the afternoon was the delivery of donated Crocs. Volunteers of all ages helped to unload the FedEx truck.

The shoes came in lots of colors and sizes, and the volunteers who had been to Haiti were excited about seeing the children's faces when they received them.


By the end of the afternoon, the trailer looked a lot different than when I had arrived.




Click here for more information about ministry to the Haitians or here for specific information about helping orphans worldwide.Technorati Tags:
C3 Missions International, Christ Covenant Church, Covenant Day School, crocs, esmi home, Haiti, Marc Lacey, Orphans
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