Things No One Cares About (Haiti among other things)

Here's where the money went

2012-01-25T21:00:00.000-08:00

Many times my friends ask me where the money went after the earthquake in Haiti.

Here is a summary.

Money from the United States: Of the $1.4 billion promised to Haiti, $655 million in funds was reimbursed to the Department of Defense.

$220 million went to repay the US Department of Health and Human Services for "stuff" for the people right after the earthquake.

$350 million went to disaster assistance-medical care and sanitation.

$150 million to the US Department of Agriculture for more rice.

$15 million to the Department of Homeland Security for Immigration fees and aircraft fares for the lucky few injured Haitian refugees brought to the United States.

It gets worse.

There was $2.4 Billion pledged by all the other people in the United Nations.

34 percent or $864 million of those funds were given back.

28 percent or $672 million was given to UN and non-governmental humanitarian projects such as housing and health-care. Only $184 million has been actually “obligated to projects”. The rest is still unspent and not many house have been built thus far.

26 percent or $624 million was given to contractors for things like road-building and infrastructure. I didn't see any new roads when I was there and infrastructure is almost non existent.

5 percent $120 million was given to various international Red Cross/Red Crescent societies.

According to a professor of foreign affairs at the University of Virginia. REAL Haitian people got LESS THAN ONE percent of the money. 99% went back to the countries including the USA that promised the money for the services they provided. Yes, the Haitians benefited from the services of all of the above, but you can clearly see that the money does not stay in Haiti. Nor did it drill any wells so they would have water or fix many roads. The the last time I was there I saw the people still carrying rubble away by hand.

It's time we quit wondering why our money isn't doing any good to help the people of Haiti.

Vicki in Haiti

2011-12-22T09:29:00.000-08:00

My student Jhonny (yes Jh...) loves JFK and expecially loves the quote, "ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country". Well Jhonny, let me tell you...we promise we are going to do for your country!

On November 29, 2011 President Martelly and President Clinton were at the IDB Forum in Port au Prince. I was fortunate enough to be at the same forum. During this forum President Martelly announced, "Haiti is open for business." Indeed it is! In this picture President Clinton and I had just talked and he was signing some papers so I took the moment to take his picture. (It's kind of hard to take a picture of someone WHILE you are talking to them!)

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I was also lucky enough to meet Vicente Fox the former President of Mexico. Mexico is supporting the growth of Haiti! Thank you President Fox!

This is the reason Haiti is working so hard to invite investors-the children. The kids in this picture are living next to the property where my team is hoping to build 204 houses. During the site visit the kids were gathered around and I asked another team member (Ricardo) to take our picture. In Haiti learning English is important. If we are awarded the 204 house contract from USAID, I'll go to Haiti to teach English. We plan to teach to build while learning English and.... we know it can be done! The next picture is of my students who have learned English in less than a year, one hour a day via Skype with me. These guys have changed my life!

They are the future leaders of Haiti!

This is Nadège Robertson Tippenhauer and Hans Tippenhauer. Nadège and I spent several hours chatting about all of the great things that women can do in Haiti. She's a really cool lady all on her own. Executive Director of http://foundationhopeforhaiti.org/ she's devoted to helping the kids of Haiti. She's my kind of woman! Her husband Hans is an advisor to President Martelly. Together they are going to do good things for Haiti and I love their energy and commmitment!

And last but not least, this is Annie getting a hug from President Clinton. She's the team leader and I'm proud to be on her team! Together two housewives from America are going to help change Haiti! Please join us! Send me an email at vickisvision@gmail.com and offer something... thoughts, suggestions, money, your time.... anything. I promise that I will be able to use your skills to help Haiti rise from the dust!

The good looking young men of Haiti

2011-12-07T19:56:00.000-08:00

Have you ever looked at a magazine and said to yourself now that's one good looking guy! I thought I would present you with some of the best looking young men in Haiti. All are looking for a job.

Time for graduation!

2011-12-05T09:35:00.000-08:00

Bengil and Elie

Jonas, Jameson and Dieuve

Milot, Elie, Ralph, Ibens

Bengil and Blaise

Milot, Jhonny, Guervins, Dieuve, Josias, Ralph

Jhonny, Benjil and Elie

The graduating class and the new students

2011-11-13T11:11:00.001-08:00

Take a look at the items on the counter. To you it may look like a handfulof pocket composition books, some tools and a bunch of jewelry. To my students it looks like the start of newbusiness opportunities. The compositionnotebooks will be sold to other students who have never had the chance to havea notebook. The jewelry on the counterwill be sold and the money will be used to support the manufacture of theleather goods.

The little tools that you see on the counter are the tools for leather craft. I’ve ordered more tools and hopefully theywill arrive in short order. The 4:00students have put together a business plan to design and make leather wallets,change purses, book covers and all things leather. They will be making the items for the next fewmonths, when I return to Haiti I'll bring the wallets back with me, so keepwatching my blog and you will see the items for sale. They will be of original design and eachstudent’s logo will be on each item. Iexpect you will see their individual personalities in the designs they presentfor your consideration. If you haverequest, please let me know and I’ll pass on the information to thestudents.

I would like to say a special thank you to a several people who havesupplied money to begin this venture, without you, this would have beenimpossible. Please join me and pray fortheir success. Keep watching and buytheir handiwork. It will be great to own one of their first works of art!

2011-10-03T22:24:00.000-07:00

I write this blogbecause I want a special someone to know how important his work is. Day after day, he goes to work. He doesn’t need to set the alarm clockbecause his internal clock rings. Thatinternal clock not only says it’s time to get up, it tells him that his familyneeds him, that there are people who are depending on his hands to make thingswork so they can do their job too. Theblue collar worker… not such a flattering title.

While it may be truehe looks good in a blue uniform, it is truer that the work he performs isextremely essential. I propose we changethat title to “essential workers”. The workhe does every day is essential. Hisfamily has always worked with their hands. It was during his childhood he learned which wrench fit which bolt. He learned how to change brakes, repair alternatorsand rebuild engines. In his spare timehe learned how to plumb the kitchen sink and wire the light switch. On weekends he learned how to plow the snow,re-roof the house and run a skid loader.

He may have not eversat in a classroom learning the proper punctuation of sentences, how to developa spreadsheet or how to trade stock on the NYSE. But then again, we can all communicatewithout proper punctuation, we can write our numbers down on paper and he’sbeen bartering since he was about seven!

I know hundreds ofpeople who have gone to college and only a handful who can change a set ofbrakes on their car. What has happenedto our country, have we sent everyone off to college and forgotten to teachsome to work with their hands? Soon wewill be out of workers and when that happens our society will fall to pieces. Therewill be no one to manufacture or fix anything. We as a country must honor and appreciate the“essential workers”, for they are the ones who keep our lives in order. A computer cannot fix our cars or build ourhomes or change our brakes.

Let’s stop sayingeveryone should go to college and start saying we need to teach our children askill. Not everyone needs to know how toinstall a program on the computer. Butwe all DO need to know how to fix our own leaking toilet.

Hurricane Irene

2011-08-22T07:47:00.000-07:00

As hurricane Irene sets her site on my students in Port au Prince. These are the messages I recieve from my students. There are an estimated 600,000 people still living in tents, some of them are my students.

Jhonny Lindor listen mom haiti is still in the bad situation don't you know you are our mom in haiti do not leave us alone mom please we need your help haiti mom all i know one day can help my self and others i love you mom

Please Jesus do something because "HAITI" is still under tents.

Jameson Ostine

That's me!

2011-08-04T15:18:00.000-07:00

Yes, I'm proud to say I was a featured member of Rebuild Haiti Better!

I'm proud to be among many who are dedicated to rebuilding Haiti!

Artists for Hope

2011-08-01T22:06:00.000-07:00

One of my favorite places to shop. Artists for Hope.

I am your friend

2011-08-01T21:56:00.000-07:00

This is for my 4:00 students... I'm missing them.

Cholera-a quick needless death

2011-07-17T22:18:00.000-07:00

Question: What causes cholera?
Answer: Exposure to contaminated or untreated drinking water

Question: Is there a treatment?
Answer:Treatment is to replace fluid and electrolytes lost through diarrhea. Depending on the condition, you may be given fluids by mouth or through a vein (intravenous). Antibiotics may shorten the time you feel ill.

Question: Can I die from cholera?
Answer: YES-Expecially if you are in Haiti.

Question: Does anyone care?
Answer: Yes, Lori and Licia @ Real Hope for Haiti

Question: Do you care?
Answer: Click here to find the answer.

Plezime

Cholera Update

Mourning cholera victims Partners In Health

Pick one... anyone....

2011-06-30T19:58:00.000-07:00

I have had several readers ask about how they can help my students in Delmas 33. Although Teach the World Online provides free English lessons to all students, there are some students who are still living in tents and in less than desirable conditions. They are working very hard to go to school in addition to attending my English classes. School supplies are almost inaccessible to most students. The luxury of a spiral notebook and a pen that works is beyond the reach of some. Without a piece of paper and a pen, it's pretty hard to take notes, practice, do homework and share your knowledge with someone else. I have opened an account which will allow me to transfer money to the students and although I am not a "nonprofit" you can be assured every penny you send, will be given directly to the students. I will personally pay the transfer fee. If you would like to gift any amount to the Delmas 33 students you may do so by sending it to Paypal. Upon receipt of your money, I will transfer it to the student who is in the most need at the moment. You can expect a thank you letter from that student, via e-mail within three days. If they can find a camera, they'll also take a picture and send it to you.

By sponsoring a student you can help fight poverty in Haiti by helping them have a pen and paper on which to write their homework.

I can assure you, there is nothing more important that you can do than to help a person who desires something as simple as "a chance".

Here is a picture of my class. Pick one.... anyone....

Vicki's Vision is shared by Jurate

2011-06-20T21:12:00.000-07:00

Thank you Jurate

for the

wonderful party in

Delmas 33

My First Moments in Haiti - with my students

2011-06-19T19:08:00.000-07:00

There is very little to say, I believe after you watch this movie you will know there are no words that could ever describe how we are feeling.

Looking Forward

2011-05-26T08:02:00.000-07:00

My life is my story and I choose to share it with my readers because I believe we all have something to share and you are no exception. If you are a first time visitor or a return visitor I invite you to look at your own life and find the things that have impacted you the most. Those events are what we commonly call life changing events. They are the things that shape who you are what you do, how you think and they lead you towards your greater purpose.

The Bible tells us before we were formed in the womb God knew us by name, we are His and he has a plan to give us hope and a future. Every single day of our life has been prepared for us. Look forward to His plans.

My blog (or collection of blogs) has been a process of identifying my dreams, core values and beliefs. I’ve shared everything from a personal letter to my son to how messy my pantry looks, my birthday (twice!), the sadness I feel for the conditions in Haiti, my cool job, statistics, funny moments and my struggle listening to God. Along the way there have been a couple of life changing experiences. I am looking forward to Gods plan for me and the life changing events that are sure to come my way.

Looking Back

2011-04-26T22:46:00.000-07:00

This month marks six months I've been working with my class in Delmas, Haiti. The first day I met them, they were still identifying colors and shapes. I've asked the students to write an essay as best they can in English, today I received my first essay to grade. I'd like to share it. If my students can do this in six months with only an hour a day on an "iffy" internet connection, just think what we could do with 6 hours a day, 5 days a week with a good internet connection.

Would you all like to help me grade this paper :-)

What makes you unique?

The core word of this question is “UNIQUE”.ENCATA defines unique as being the only one of a kind, being different from other in a way that makes someone or something special or worthy. Regardless of one’s belief, either in Bible either in the theory of evolution of Darwin, everyone can agree that the earth has been peopled for more than one million years. With this age knowing as humans give birth fast, the number of humans that have lived is uncountable. But let’s focus on men .So all these men were they similar, or were they different?

Is there a chance that I’m the exact copy of somebody who had lived before?

A sharp study will bring light upon our debate.

To discuss that subject we will consider five points: BIRTHDATE, FAMILY NAME, RESEMBLANCE IN APPEREANCE,SIMILARITIES IN CHARACTER at least the PERSONALITY.

Life is with no doubt the most beautiful thing that exists… To experience happiness, bliss and love one must be alive. The process of life will not be part of our study but we’ll emphasis on the birth in this point .Even though we take count of the exact time of the delivery it’s probable that more than five babies take birth at the same moment. Therefore many people can have the same birthday or if you allow this abuse of language the same birth minute.

Generally after the birth every baby is given a name .According to the Bible since God had created the first man HE had given him a name and thus to the woman; this has kept on up to now .A name is given to a child to call him or her when needed and to identify him or her from other members of the family ,surrounding et cetera. The question of last name has been coined by Italians at the beginning of our era… Normally children bear the last name or their father but sometimes resulting to a variety of problems some mothers give their last name to their child. The last name tells the origins of the child and helps identify the child from other children who might have the same first name as him or her.

Hereditary links are so remarkable that some children walk, talk in the same way as their parents. Sometimes when you see a kid there is no need to meet his father or his mother. We made this a approach to make you see and understand that two people could have the same name or the same character and behavior. Even though we do know that nature has a different impact on each person, which will help the person to build her personality.

The personality is somebody’s set of characteristics, his or her total attitudes, interests, behavioral pattems, emotional responses, social roles and other individual traits that endure over long periods of time. George Sylvain a Haitian poet of the 19th century said that the name we are given is a mirror in which our behavior and personality are reflected sometimes.

From the first point to the last discussed in this study let’s notice that none can top the personality. Though it is seldom that two people have the same full name but it is something that’s already happened. According to the fact that the birthrate in a hospital in the USA is “X” and in Haiti it is “X” so we can all admit that many babies can be borned at exactly the same time. In family children can have the same handwriting as their parents. And we cannot ignore the prominent resemblance that exists between family’s members.

Someone cannot be the only one of his kind depending on his birth date, name ,appearance, character just because regardless, as we mentioned at the beginning of this study, of one’s belief we’ve all been created in the image of God or come all from one man. But the human kind is spread on a big ball of 40,000km of circumference; each region is different from others by its climate, relief, culture, wealth, education level, belief et cetera. Every nation is different from others. In families, the source of all societies, there is a lot differences between siblings. The nature impacts every body differently so in this point of view every body is different from others; but that difference dwells in the personality of everyone. People’s personalities are like their finger prints none one on earth can have the same characteristic, given in the definition beneath of personality, as you. I am unique because I have a lot of qualities and flaws that nobody else has; because the way I think nobody else can think that way ,nobody else can love my mother, my brothers, my girlfriend the way I love them.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
All I can say as a teacher, is I'm proud.
Vicki

I have a question.

2011-04-09T08:08:00.000-07:00

I am all for the United States Navy. They are my heros in so many ways. All around the world our men (including my two sons) and women serve our country and provide support to so many other contries. On April 6 the HSV 2 Swift finally delivered nearly $1 million worth of relief supplies to Haiti. However, the Navy’s program Project Handclasp spokesperson said because of various transport difficulties the bulk of the food had passed its expiration date and had to be thrown away.

Now I know most food has an expiration date of a “long time” which tells me that the food either was old to begin with or it’s been sitting in a warehouse for a “long time”. Which is it?

If it was old to begin with, why did Project Handclasp accept it in the first place? If it has been sitting in a warehouse that long, why is that? Someone needs to be doing their job a little better. It is not only wasteful, it is heartbreaking.

Commander Lewis Preddy, said sending the food on a ship earlier would have meant drawing down resources from humanitarian missions elsewhere and I wouldn’t want that to happen either. But I would like to know who didn’t check the expiration dates before it was loaded on that ship.

We are the United States, we make things happen in a timely fashion. Commander Preddy, you need to check the expiration dates a little closer.

Young Haitian professionals working towards lasting development

2011-04-04T20:48:00.000-07:00

What do you do when you see a need? Fill it! That is exactly what a group of young collegiate and professionals have done in Delmas. In Haiti there is a saying, “to do something by nails”. Translated… trying to get something done with out the proper tools and frames. Buteau and his friends put their heads together and developed a plan to address the lack of proper tools and help the community build a frame on which they could build lasting development.

MOJECF- a French acronym translated to English means, the mobilization of the young people against the flails was created in 2006 and recognized by the Haitian government in 2008 as a nonprofit, humanitarian, Christian community organization. MOJECF is committed to community education to combat the flails the youth of Delmas encounter every day of their life.

Recently MOJECF has sponsored several community awareness programs to address environmental protection, communal hygiene, sexually transmitted diseases and tuberculosis. In partnership with CCHER (Center for Community Health Education and Research), Food for the Poor, CONCERN, Grace Children’s Hospital, guest speakers Dr. Blandine and Dr. Duc, hundreds of Delmas citizens have been given the proper tools to develop a framework for lasting development.

Join with me to help spread the word, support them and pray for their successful continuation.
Visit their web page and send them a note of congratulations.

MOJECF
The mobilization of the young people against the flails
Rue MarienT Delmas 31 #21 Port-au-Prince (W.I)
Email: mojecf@yahoo.com
Tel.: (509)3441-0979
http://www.wix.com/ourhaiti/mojecf

Happy Birthday to Me!!!!

2011-02-24T22:20:00.000-08:00

How on earth could I have missed the opportunity to share with you my birthday? Well here it is. This is my intermediate class in Port au Prince (Delmas) Haiti. I'm taking a video with my camera pointing at my computer screen. You can see my shadow but more important, you can see just how suprised I was!

It is Elie who is reading the "Birthday Card" for me, but it is the whole class singing. Enjoy!

I know today is a red letter day for you and you may trust me if I tell you we feel the same. Today is not only a day that God preserves but also a day that He did a miracle. Thank goodness that we have met that first teacher and we can not exchange that day for anything. I know you know my hands can’t reach you but my words can reach your heart. In the world there are many different ways to say that you love some one but here is a different way …. And there are many different languages in which you can wish Happy Birthday to some one but mine is in Creole, Bon fet.

Does it sound cliché to say, my life has been changed because of this class? Even if it does...it has.

Communique' #86

2011-02-19T21:14:00.000-08:00

Here is a picture of my friends Nora and Leon. Nora is the Executive Director for Caribbean Children's Foundation Missionary to Haiti and the Dominican Republic. Among about a million other things, Nora likes to gather sea glass and I like to buy sea glass! That's how we got to be friends. A few day's ago I was reading Nora's Communique' #86. Every time I read that word communique' it makes me happy! By the time I was done reading Communique' #86 (see I just had to say it again because it makes me smile!) anyway... I wanted to share with you a little story that happens right out side of Nora's door.

At about 4:30PM every morning, it seems that a truck stop of sorts is located on the shoulder of the road across the street from my home. Blowing their excessively loud air horns, two or three large open bed trucks will arrive, pulling their vehicle onto the side of the road to park their rig facing the oncoming traffic that is entering the gates of the city of LesCayes. Soon smaller vehicles, people on motorcycles and people on foot will arrive to start filling the trucks with their merchandise in preparation for their long journey from LesCayes to Port-au-Prince. Large bags of various products are lifted up into the bed of the truck, where the men in charge wedge each parcel into a precise spot. The bags will contain one of many things, such as charcoal, rice, fruit or clothing. The passengers, mostly peasant woman, will climb on top to begin settling in for their long ride. Some very elderly women will defy their age by making two or three very un-ladylike steps from the ground, up the side of the truck and over the top railing to find the best seat possible for the lengthy ride to a roadside market in the capital city of Haiti.

A most enterprising lady always appears alongside the trucks. She is pushing a rusty old wheelbarrow with a tire that is more square than it is round. Nestled under a bundle of towels and rags is a steaming pot of food. The roll-along diner is soon swarmed by hungry passengers needing some sustenance prior to their nighttime journey. A heaping mound of beans and rice is artfully placed on a Styrofoam plate with a plastic spoon piercing the savory food. The passengers are adept at climbing up into the truck without spilling a morsel from their plateful of food that will be enjoying, while perching on top of one of the gigantic bags of juice oranges heading to market. Many passengers finish their food just as the driver of the truck prepares to start the engine. The discarded plates soon become the stepping stones of pedestrians on the gravel paths below. Even the next morning, the remnants of the food feast lay scattered throughout the neighborhood, in spite of a nearby sign that pleads for no trash to be thrown in this area.

When departure time seems imminent, passengers wedge themselves into the best possible position for the long, bumpy, breakneck speed ride into the big city – a ride that may include unpredictable weather of high winds or rains or the serenity of a beautiful umbrella of a starlit sky. Some tighten a scarf around their head. Some put on a sweater in an attempt to keep the chill of the damp night air from their bones. Some decide that a more reclining type position would better suit them for being able to sleep along the way.
This is the life of a street vendor. A small fee is paid for each sack of merchandise brought on the truck. A small fee is paid for each passenger who will nestle themselves amongst the hodge podge mounds of market goods. At times, passengers are even accompanied by livestock of goats and chickens who are heading to market. The truck will wind over two mountain ranges, forge through rivers where bridges have been washed away and slide through treacherous sections of road that sometimes require the passengers to get down from their thrones of rough sack cloth to walk through the area so that the lightened load can get everyone to their destination.
The destination for many is a little place to squat in a tiny spot on a smelly, muddy, trash-strewn roadside. There they will compete, shoulder-to-shoulder, with hundreds of others who have come to sell the very same product that they have come to sell. There they will stay, many times in the baking sun, until they have sold what they have brought and made enough money to return home and start the process all over again.
One cannot say that the Haitian people are not hard workers. The Haitian people will do whatever they have to do to survive. I watch grown men riding bicycles to their jobs, as it is their only means of transportation. I watch as men carry live chickens throughout the community, trying to sell them to a housewife needing a meal for her family. I watch teenagers peddling brooms, pharmaceuticals, electrical gadgets and other desired items, as they weave on foot through the chaotic traffic. My thoughts then turn towards corporate America. Has anyone climbing the corporate ladder ever worked under conditions such as this, just to bring a single dollar home to their family at night? Yet, here in Haiti, we see this type of labor day after day after day! It is the norm, rather than the exception. Haitians earn little, but work hard! Haitians are survivors!
When you sit in your homes tonight, after a long day at work, take a moment to bow your head! Take time to thank God for the blessings that you have! And while you are at it … ask him for a special blessing for a Haitian worker !

And for Nora and Leon and their work with the The Caribbean Children's Foundation.

Until next time,

Vicki

Artists for Hope

2011-02-15T21:03:00.000-08:00

I haven't left the house for several days and I felt like shopping. One of my favorite places to shop is Artists for Hope. My first purchase from them was a beautiful necklace and earrings. I wear them all of the time. Today I bought baskets made by 81 year old Madame La Rousse Jn. Pierre. This basket is made from a very special weaving technique that isn’t used very often in Haiti anymore because it is very difficult. You can read more about this amazing woman at http://artistsforhope.blogspot.com/2010/10/madame-la-rousse-jn-pierre.html
Or if you click on any of the pictures you will go directly to the shopping page. Enjoy!

Here is a picture of the baskets at MY house!

TEACH THE WORLD ONLINE –FROM ILLINOIS TO HAITI

2011-01-12T13:12:00.000-08:00

Volunteers helping to restore education in class rooms throughout Port au Prince

Snow is falling in Northern Illinois this week and that gives Vicki Kessel a great opportunity to carry her computer outside and show the snow drifts to her English class in Haiti. Vicki lives 150 miles west of Chicago, and she loves her volunteer virtual teaching job. “The kids show up and are so eager to learn, I just love this work.”

For 3 months Vicki has been connected to classes of 10 to 20 students organized in Port au Prince by Teach the World Online, which started offering classes to children living in the tent cities three weeks after the earthquake and is trying to expand the classroom sites in Haiti as fast as donations will allow. Money is needed for the student classroom space rental, the internet access costs, and one laptop computer for each class, and speakers to plug in so the children can hear the teacher talking to them from the laptop screen.

Working with Teach the World online’s curriculum coordinator, Vicki has her daily lesson plans and works to engage the class, get them to speak to her and to each other in English. There is a class monitor who helps interpret and keep the class focused on the Haitian end. Children have lessons to take home, and “each one, teach one” is expected from the children, who have widely varying English skills.

It has been reported that 4000 schools were destroyed by the earthquake in Haiti. Free universal education is not offered, and tuition schools are too expensive for most children, so the children of Haiti are losing valuable years of education as they wait to see how and when their country will be rebuilt.
Vicki Kessel is logging on to Skype and hoping the connection will stay strong for her 4 PM Port au Prince class, because today they will be reciting some poetry, and singing a song they learned this week. She sees 6 faces in the small camera range, with 10 more behind, all eager to speak to her . She starts; “Hello Everyone, My name is Vicki, and I live in Illinois. What is your name, and where do you live?” In a later poling question she asks, “How many of you live in a tent?” On her monitor she sees all the hands go up, tent is an English word that everyone knows.
To see a class and hear a teacher starting a class of beginners go to: http://www.teachtheworldonline.org/

Contact information:
Vicki Kessel
vickisvision@gmail.com

Justin Purnell
justin@teachtheworldonline.org

Teach the World Online

2011-01-06T21:39:00.001-08:00

Teach the World Online

Click on the picture and it will take you to the facebook page!

I've been writing about Haiti for about three years. I'm a supporter of several GREAT organizations who are making a difference in Haiti. From caring for those who are sick to caring for the children who have no where to go and spreading the word about many others who are making a difference. I try hard to make these people REAL. Because they are, all of them have names and all of them deserve love and support and accolades for what they are doing.

I've been asked to join Teach the World Online teaching students to speak English in Port au Prince. Now you may think speaking English is not that important but I want to tell you from the very first day I started teaching, I learned from the students what it was like to want to do something so bad that they would sit in the dark to get it done.

That's right. While we were having class, it got dark and there was no electricity. We communicate via Skype and they have a laptop that is hooked up to car batteries to make it run, when it got dark the only light in the room was from the monitor. I sat and looked at my computer monitor and all I saw was darkness. But I could still hear the excitment in their voices while we were practicing our vocabulary words. Have you ever wanted something that bad?

Would you like a school built with your name on it? Here is what I am asking my readers to do. Give money. For less than $1000 a new virtual classroom can be built. Why are we doing this? Well let me tell you....

An uncalculated number of professors, professionals and students were killed or fled Haiti after the earthquake, causing brain-drain of a critically needed people for the country and TWOL is reversing brain drain.

What makes Teach the World Online different? WE GET IT!
Unlike many other nonprofit organizations, we hire local Haitians in Port au Prince to work in our schools as teaching assistants and we stay here (except for the occasional visit of course). What’s more, we embrace the philosophy of the snowball effect. When each of the 150 students shares their knowledge with their family members, 500 lives will be changed! Even better than that our school is free to all the students who attend!

Teach the teacher is a concept that Teach the World Online will champion across the world, over the next years. Join us; give your money to build a virtual school in Port au Prince. If you can’t give your money, give your time and become a teacher!

Cholera in Haiti, Dominican Republic and the United States

2010-11-17T11:49:00.000-08:00

Update: Jan 2011 Cholera in Haiti as of Dec 25, 2010

Is there real hope for Haiti? The cholera outbreak has now spread across the border to the Dominican Republic as well as reached the United States. According to Tom Skinner (CDC)"This case is not unexpected and we're likely to see more imported cases of cholera in people who travel back from Haiti to the United States our medical system, as well as our water and sanitation programs, is such that we are not going to see cholera spreading in the United States the way it is in Haiti."

Haiti does not have a medical system or a water and sanitation program. It is people like Lori and Licia who are taking care of the victims in Haiti. Once again, you ask why do I write about this... because YOU can help. Don't sit there... donate. I promise your money will be spent wisely and God will bless you a thousand times over.

They need a kitchen!

2010-11-17T11:27:00.000-08:00

Last year I wrote

to Oneida and asked them for forks and spoons and they blessed Pwoje Espwa with 1000 forks and spoons. I am now on the hunt for someone to help them build a kitchen. I know there has to be someone out there that can help. The food in the pan is like cream of wheat, it will be the main meal for all of the children for the day. As you can see the food is cooked outside under a canopy over an open fire. Would you like to help? Can you just give me a contact name? I know God is listening. Help me do His work.

Step out of your box!

2010-08-28T18:56:00.000-07:00

There are times in our life when we know we should take action and yet we don’t. I know it’s hard to muster up the courage to step out of our box and do things that we aren’t use to doing. I know we all like to live in our comfort zone and pretend that the rest of the world is doing just fine without our help. I hope today is not one of those days for you. I wish for these pictures to weigh on your mind. I hope you think about this a 100 times. I hope it becomes one of those “things” you just cant ignore. I want this to touch you. I want this to be something that makes you say, “I can help do something about this.” Because the fact of the matter is YOU CAN do something about this.

Lori and Licia are my friends who live in Haiti. They are real people just like you and I. They are not some huge nonprofit organization who gets tons of money from the government. They scrap and scrounge every penny while they take care of children who are very, very sick. And by very I mean within minutes of death. Think about this _D-E-A-T-H. permanent, absolute, final, the end of this child’s life. Yes, I want you to think about this until you leap into action. I want you to look around at the little kids in your life and think how devastated you would be if your little kids died.

Jasner, came to Lori and Licia and one week later he had died. It was to late for little Jasner.

Lori and Licia administer a program called “Medika Mamba” It helps little starving children like Elita gain weight. ( By the way, Elita needs your prayers. Lori and Licia say she has lost the will to live.)

This is Dieulot, he is 2 years old and weighs 11 pounds. 11 POUNDS! Now you and I both know most babies in the United States are born weighing 7 or 8 pounds.

Would you like to see proof this program works?

From this........................................To this!

Ok, now you’ve made it this far, step out of your box. Click on the donate Paypal button. It only takes a minute. I don’t care what you send, they don’t care what you send. SEND SOMETHING. You’ll feel good as soon as you click that button. I promise… and I wouldn’t steer you wrong. Love, Vicki

or send donation checks to:

REAL HOPE FOR HAITI

PO Box 23

Elwood, IN 46036

Sending my love to Haiti

2010-01-13T21:33:00.000-08:00

My friends Real Hope for Haiti
Licia and Lori
http://haitirescuecenter.wordpress.com/

My friend Father Marc
http://pwojeespwa.blogspot.com/
or
http://freethekids.org/

Nora-Caribbean Children’s Foundation
http://apps.facebook.com/causes/333166?m=714bOa78

Chris and Leslie
Clean Water for Haiti
http://www.cleanwaterforhaiti.org/index.html
or
http://rollingsinhaiti.wordpress.com/
Chris shares his story. It is heartbreaking. Please take time to read it.

Sherry
Love a Child
http://www.loveachild.com/blogs/journal/

Lori’s personal blog Real Hope for Haiti
http://haitinurse4life.xanga.com/

Oneida! Spoons and Forks!

2009-07-28T21:42:00.000-07:00

Ok, I'm excited! So very excited! My heart has been in Haiti for quite some time. I'm always looking for ways to help. Look at my links on the left side of the blog and you will find links to my Haiti friends. Look back further in my posts and you will see my blog about Father Mark. Click here and you will find Father Marc and Pwoje Espwa - Hope in Haiti .

Click here and you will find Oneida. The founder John Humphrey Noyes' had a theory of Perfectionism, a form of Christianity with two basic values; self-perfection and communalism. These ideals were translated into everyday life through shared property and work. Noyes' solution was a society where the interest of one member became the interest of all - the enlargement of the family.

Somewhere between Father Marc and John Noyes is Will.

A few months ago I asked Will what would help the kids at Pwoje Espwa. He told me eating utensils. Now my first thought was to run around and collect all the old spoons and forks that I could find. I figure I have a couple hundred friends. If they all gave 5 spoons and 5 forks each, I'd have enough to give to Father Marc for his kids. Sounds easy, wasn't! I guess I've never taken the time to see what 1000 spoons and 1000 forks look like. But that's how many they needed. What to do? I'm sure if you've read this far, you've guessed it. I wrote a letter to Oneida asking them for spoons and forks. Today I recieved a call telling me they would love to help. God is amazing! The people at Oneida are my heros! Now all I have to do is figure out how I am going to get them to the little hands that need them.

Tonight I'd ask everyone who reads my blog to do something that matters, do it today.

God talks to Me??????

2009-07-22T13:34:00.000-07:00

Still having troubles sleeping. To much on my mind.

So, I know nothing about this web site, but when I googled "How do I know what God wants me to do?" This is what came up God Talks To You so I read this page. Then I get down to the part where it says "Test the communication" Compare the communication with scripture. God will never disagree with himself, and he has spoken in the Bible....open the Bible randomly and read where ever your eye hits on the page. So I did.

I opened the Bible in the dark of my bedroom. Walked through the house and turned on the light and Read 1 John Chapter 3. If you don't have time to read it, let me sum it up for you. "But if anyone has enough money to live well and sees a brother or sister in need and refused to help-how can God's love be in that person." "Let us stop just saying we love each other; let us really show it by our actions."

Then another question to God. What will happen to the person I am so worried about? Open to 2 Chronicles Chapter 33. Manasseh... (hmm... that's not who I'm worried about God.....) Ok, I'll read it anyway. So I read it. Well up until verse 11 it wasn't looking so good for Manasseh. (I want you to know I was feeling pretty worried about my loved one until Verse 12) "But while in deep distress, Manasseh sought the Lord his God and cried out humbly to the God of his ancestors. 13 And when he prayed the Lord listened to him and was moved by his request for help. Long story short. Manasseh rebuilt what he had destroyed and the Lord lived in him. (Whewww, I was a bit worried, but I can see clearly now, things are going to work out!)

Wow, those two passages worked out so well that I just couldn't help myself I had to ask God one more question. How do I know my choice will be right? (There weren't any trumpets or angels but Psalm 127 opened then 128 and 129) Alrighty then. You go read Psalm yourself. I know God talks to me!

What does God want me to do?

2009-07-21T12:30:00.000-07:00

I have been wrestling with some options in my life for a couple of years. It has not been easy. I spend a fair amount of my free time (and time I should be working) wondering... how will I know what God wants me to do?

Such a tuff question for me.

I think the answer is so simple it should smack me in the face, but it's not. Doesn't God want me to become the best person I can be and make great contributions to the world around me? To do that I need to know my true self. God knows the path I will take in life. God is my creator, my friend and my father. He wants to tell me His plan for my life.

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." (Jeremiah 29:11)

My children are raised and gone. I've been waiting and waiting. I want to hear God tell me... You have the freedom and wisdom and time to do My work.

I'm listening God. Please talk to me.

Navy Bootcamp Graduation

2009-05-12T09:37:00.000-07:00

May 8, 2009
I'm proud to announce my son has graduated! On to A School at Great Lakes. Here are pictures of both of MY sailors.

USS Comfort

2009-04-14T11:42:00.000-07:00

Reasons to be a PROUD American!

Caribbean Children's Foundation

2009-04-09T19:48:00.001-07:00

Once in a while, I am listening. Occasionally I am quiet enough to hear God talk to me. Today is one of those days.

Psalm 37:7 (New Living Translation)
Be still in the presence of the Lord, and wait patiently for him to act.

I wrote very briefly about Nora one other time. Her work merits more than a half of a paragraph. Again, I want to say I don't know her and she doesn't even have a clue who I am. You can find her blog here and on this page you will see some of the faces of the children who are helped by her foundation.

She is one of my heros and she doesn't even know it. If you read her blog long enough you will see she has the patients of Job. Goodness where does that saying come from?

Job's story, told in the Old Testament is that of a God fearing man who suddenly found himself in a succession of events that brought terrible loss, with lasting distress and severe affliction. A bunch of disasters which striped him of goods, children and health, yet he remained faithful to God. Later it is revealed that it was a test of his faith. But because of his steadfast faithfulness, Job is blessed by God and he becomes more prosperous than ever before.

That's Nora and the Caribbean Children's Foundation! They proudly declare on their web page...

The "Children of Israel" Orphanage (of Les Cayes, Haiti) is currently drawing up plans for a permanent orphanage that will house both the boys and the girls. The Izidor family is waiting on the Lord for funds to make this permanent home a reality.

I will continue to pray for their permanent orphanage. It's hard for me to read that when it rains the boys must move to a safer place to sleep and the girls live in three rooms of the school.

I will continue to pray YOU the supporters will be quiet and listen to the Lord. Shh... listen and HE will tell you how to help...

...this is what HE told me

2009-04-09T19:48:00.000-07:00

Be All That You Can Be

2009-04-08T08:29:00.000-07:00

This is an open letter to my son who called me from Navy bootcamp yesterday.

Ryan,
Another typed letter, sorry. At least you can read it. I was so happy to be able to talk to you. You had me a bit worried when I answered the phone. I know bootcamp is hard, but I want to tell you some things. I want you to re-read this letter when you are feeling like you are alone.

I am the mom and I am confident that my son is in good hands. You are warm and fed and you are working your butt off and when you come out of bootcamp you will be a very proud sailor, like many, many, many before you. You will be special. Even more special than you were when we brought you home from the hospital. You will have joined the ranks of the men and women who protect our country. And even though we sometimes feel like our family is the most important. Try to remember, that before our families can be safe, we must have a safe place to live. There are people all over this world who are not safe because of the country they live in. You are one of the men who will make sure that your wife and child, I, dad and all of our family can go to sleep at night safely.
All of the things that you are doing right now are for a reason. Thinking about your day…

Get up early every morning. Shower, shave and get ready for inspection by making your bed, straightening your locker, and cleaning the barracks. Marching with your company to breakfast, drilling, physical training, going to classes, taking tests. All those things are to see where YOU will be best in the United States Navy. Don’t think for a moment that leaders are just pulled off of some farm in Ohio, Illinois. They are groomed into leaders. As parents, (as your mom) I gave you the basic knowledge of the world. I tried really hard to show you what was right and what was wrong. I taught you how to love and be loved and be a strong person. I hopefully taught you that you are loved by not only me and your family but by God also. There is a greater purpose in life than to “just be”. Everyone has their destiny. Destiny is a big word that is hard to understand. But everything you are doing right this moment/minute is, well, to be, it’s meant to be. You have to do what you are doing right now to be the person that you will be until the day you die.
By doing the PT and going to classes and all the other things, you are learning that you may not be the strongest, or fastest or the smartest, but you are part of a team that IS! Together as a team you become a force to be reckoned with. Of course you are military. So one day you may need to depend on one of those other team members. They won’t be those same guys that you went to bootcamp with but they will be one of the guys who went through the same bootcamp that you went through. It is about a team. Just like being part of a family is like being part of a team. Think about it. In our family everyone has their roles. Some of us are good at some things and some of us are better at other things. You are learning about team work in bootcamp. You’ve always been a part of a team, now you are just learning to understand how a team works.

You are learning that there are rules and regulations that govern the military and the Navy…in particular at this moment. BUT, in life there are also rules and regulations. To have a happy family life and happy country, there are rules. You are learning all of them. You will also be able to take this information and apply it to your family and to your whole way of life. By LEARNING all this stuff, you will be able to PROUDLY represent your family and your country. YOU will also be able to DEFEND your family, your relationships and your country. Every thing you are learning in boot camp is applicable for ALL OF LIFE!
Don’t worry about not being able to call home. That’s also is for a reason. Several reasons I am sure. When you first get to bootcamp, it's the worst thing that could possibly happen to a human being! You said that yourself. It’s MEANT to be that way. You’re thinking…there is no way a civilized human being can survive such treatment!!! You’re thinking you will never….ever complete this!
Everyone is mean, remember everyone has orders to follow from someone, they aren’t just being mean to be mean! The food is terrible! Ha, ha you thought Steph didn’t cook very well…Where do you think the saying comes from that, “No one cooks like mama!” comes from? The hours are terrible, but remember you LIKE being up late!!!! You may be thinking that there is no way they're going to be a sailor for the rest of your life. But, sure enough in just a couple more weeks, you’re going to forget all those things. Just like having a baby. Women say all the time 10 minutes after birth, “I’m never doing that again”, and ha ha, there they are doing it again in no time. So the Navy doesn’t want you calling home and getting a “Oh poor Ryan” from mom or anyone else from that matter! I am a proud, proud, proud Navy mom. I’ve given both my sons to the Navy. I believe in all the values they teach you. I believe in being tough, I believe my sons can be great leaders! Don’t worry that you can’t call. Because I know you are growing and changing and it’s just like before you’re born. You need time to grow, give it time. Those waiting for you know that you are getting ready to come out. And when you march across that room on May 8th it’s going to be just like a birth! You just have no idea how proud you and your family will be!

When you are done with bootcamp you will be a trained Navyman! You will be like hundreds of thousands before you! You will be our future leader and YOU will then have to teach those young boys (and girls) who joined the Navy, just what the Navy is all about. You will be well prepared. You will have skills that make YOUR family, and Navy family strong!

I am really proud of you. KNOW that YOU are doing your family and your country proud.

Yep, I sound like a Navy commercial don’t I? Well, it’s because I believe in YOU and our military. Truly, there is a reason the Navy says, BE ALL THAT YOU CAN BE!

51

2009-02-10T12:51:00.001-08:00

Yes, I am 51.

What's next? What does the next 51 years hold? Dreams which have been collected.

Haiti, helping children and teaching health education. Sailing with the man I love. Going to see my grandchildren to experience their lives with them. Visiting my children in far off places. Welcoming new grandchildren and great grandchildren. Teaching my daughters and daughter-in-laws how to make jelly. Living in a renovated school bus. Making soap. Making quilts. Passing on my love of different cultures and different people. Giving my worldly possessions away to those who want or need them. Being loved by someone forever. Never returning home to get old and die. And when I die, being greeted at Heavens door by God and all the people who I've loved.

Real Hope

2008-11-14T20:05:00.000-08:00

Each of us has had the experience of being in a desperate situation. Think back to when you believed you were at the end of your rope.

"THE END" is subjective. Everyone sees their situation differently. What I might consider "the end of my rope" is not necessarily what you would see as "the end". Pain, emotional or physical pain is perceived differently by every person on this earth. That is what makes us all different. I know of children who have been abandoned by both of their parents, either by death or choice. Yet those children are able to continue on with their life.
At one point in my life I was sure that life as I knew it, was coming to an end. My grandmother told me, "When you think you are at the end of your rope, tie a knot at the end and hang on a little tighter."

At the time I thought she had no idea how simple that sounded. Today, years later, I appreciate just how good her advice was. I've tied that knot at the end of my rope several times. Sometimes I've actually tied that rope around my wrist so when I got tired of hanging on, the rope would just do the work for me and I could rest and gather my strength to hang on a little longer.

I challenge everyone who reads my blog to think about the people in their life who are your rope. The ones you go to when you need some support. The people who know how to make you feel better when you are desperate. This group knows how to help others when they are at the end of their rope.

More pictures to join this honorable group as soon as I get my Internet working!

Run Will Run!!!!!!

2008-10-16T11:39:00.000-07:00

This story was taken from Cay Compass
This is Will>>>>>>>>
He can RUN!>>>>>>
Here is a story about my friend Will...

When the Cayman Islands Marathon comes round, many charities will benefit from the good nature of runners raising money for good causes.

All proceeds from the Cayman Islands Marathon, which takes place on Sunday 7 December, will benefit the Cayman Islands Cadet Corps and the Cancer Society.
Race organisers are encouraging runners to consider running for these or any other charities of their choice.
“Running in aid of a charity is a great way to motivate yourself and push forward when the training becomes tedious or difficult,” says Rhonda Kelly, Race Director for the Cayman Islands Marathon.
The fact that your completion of the race will benefit people in need is always a great incentive.”
Runners can log on to the CaymanIslandsMarathon.com website and make a donation to one of the charities already listed or they can contact the organisers to have a charity added to the list.
Then the runner can send an email to friends and loved ones to let them know about his/her intention to run and donations can then be made in the runner’s name to that organisation.
Running for charity is very common and last year a few of the Cayman Marathon participants raised funds for local organizations.
Most notable was Jim Fraser who ran the marathon in aid of the Lighthouse School, raising over $40,000 to be used for building a multi–sensory nature garden for the students, and assisting with the construction of a hydrotherapy pool and Erin Lynch, who ran her very first marathon and raised $2,600 for the Cayman Islands Humane Society’s Spay and Neuter programme.
This year, the race organisers are looking forward to meeting a young man who is coming from Haiti to run his very first marathon for a very special cause.
Will Perez, 22, is a recent graduate from Brown University who has deferred his first year of medical school to be the new Director of Public Health in Southern Haiti.

“My position is unpaid and though I use several grants to fund the work I’m doing, I’m in need of extra funds after the three hurricanes destroyed everything I’d been working towards,” explains Perez.

“I decided to run the Cayman Islands Marathon as a fundraiser and in dedication to the 650 children at the Pwoje Espwa orphanage where I work.”

Perez says his training programme has been quite rigorous due to the weather conditions and the conditions of the roads that he has to run on.

He has also been training one of the older boys, Fritzner, from the orphanage who he hopes will be able to come to Cayman to run with him.
“He’’s very excited. At 22, he has been living in the orphanage since he was 13. This marathon has become both his and my goal, and so we’re counting down the days until we arrive in the Cayman Islands.”

Because Perez’s funds are very limited, he has found a family in Cayman who has agreed to let him stay at their home when he comes for the race and he has started a blog at http://runningforhaiti.blogspot.com/ to keep his friends, family and supporters informed of his progress.

His blog also contains information on how people can donate to his cause.
“Will’s story is an inspiring one and we look forward to welcoming him and Fritzner to Cayman and helping them achieve their goals for the orphanage,” says Kelly.

What might have been.

2008-10-08T13:11:00.000-07:00

Edited on January 15, 2009
Every life is valuable. I am sad for the loss of Mr. Hedi Annabi. I will morn for the possibility of change he could have brought to Haiti. My heart and prayers go out to his family and friends.

The chief of the United Nations stabilization mission to Haiti, Hédi Annabi, was reported killed in the collapse of the U.N. building in Port-au-Prince.

Mr. Annabi, a 65-year-old career diplomat from Tunisia, was one of up to 100 people reported missing in the collapse, according to the United Nations. Haiti’s president, Rene Preval, told journalists in Port-au-Prince that Mr. Annabi had died when the five-story Christopher Hotel, which housed the U.N. offices, collapsed. Mr. Annabi was meeting a Chinese police delegation at the time of the earthquake, according to reports.
On Jan. 7, Mr. Annabi had pledged that the United Nations would assume responsibility for logistics and security for a pair of upcoming Haitian elections. The first, for the country’s legislature, was scheduled to occur on Feb. 28.
“Success would allow the country to enter a virtuous circle where stability and development are mutually reinforcing,” Mr. Annabi said.
“Haiti is today at a turning point in its history,” Mr. Annabi said on Jan. 7. “We saw the hope of a new departure emerge on the horizon in 2009. It is now up to the Haitians, and only the Haitians, to transform this hope into reality by working together in the greater interests of their country.”
Mr. Annabi was appointed in 2007 as head of the stabilization mission, which includes 7,800 U.N. peacekeepers. He was previously assistant secretary-general for peacekeeping operations, working on U.N.-brokered political settlements in Cambodia and Africa.
– Stephen Miller

Once more risking the chance of making some of my friends a little mad. As well as hoping that some of my other friends/family might take note of my issues and mention to someone, somewhere that SOMETHING needs changed. I'll think out loud for a moment... This is Hedi Annabi. He is the U.N. Special Representative and the leader of the four-year-old mission in Haiti. Mr. Annabi may be speaking out of both sides of his mouth. May. I repeat may. I will be waiting to see.

One side: President Rene Preval has called on the force for more than two years to provide long-term assistance with "fewer tanks and more tractors." Hedi Annabi believes it's not his mission. He said, "I'm not going to ask for something that will never happen. We try on the margins of the mandate to do what we can, to do simple things for people to meet emergency needs ... but we don't have a development mandate and never will."

But because he wants the UN force in Haiti renewed, he's changed his tune slightly. (On a side note here. I was thinking about this before the contract was renewed on October 16th)

The other side: He believes a large-scale reforestation combined with an alternative energy plan is necessary. He admits the government of Haiti does not have enough resources (aka MONEY) to help the people of Haiti and "A poor, angry and desperate population is not compatible with security and stability. "

"I realise we are in a difficult environment," he said. However, he said it would not hurt the economies of developed countries to hand over more aid for Haiti.
Is he asking for more money for MINUSTAH? They have a $575 million budget.
Or is he asking for "fewer tanks and more tractors"?
Let's watch and see.

In the durration if you are interested in Alternative sustainable development, environment organizational and leadership training,community micro-credit and animal husbandry
Please visit the Lambi Fund of Haiti

Water seems to always be the topic of conversation!

2008-10-02T10:15:00.000-07:00

WATER.

I write so often about water! My grandfather who was born in 1896... Picture above, standing proudly in the Army during WWI, worked as a water driver. He drove water to the front lines during the war. Grandpa Smith knew how important water was. After the war, he homesteaded property in the Midwest. I was just a child and remember him telling about "witching water". He believed he was a dowser and many of the people within 3 counties called upon his services to locate water on their property. On his little 20 acres he drilled a well, the deepest well in the county. He would say "this water comes from Mississippi bedrock". Now I don't know if it did or didn't but I still drink from that very same well drilled many years ago. It's good water!

Grandpa was an old man and I found him quite silly many times in my life, particularly when he said, "Mark my words someday you'll be paying to drink water."

Yes indeed grandpa I now pay for my water.

I've written about the lack of water, dirty water, flooding waters and now I write about a lake full of water.

This lake is rising. Rising at an alarming pace. It's not just the most recent rain that has caused this problem. It has been on the rise for a few years. Is there ANYONE out there that can help? Can ANYONE offer some suggestions? The houses below, just a couple of years ago did not have water flowing in their front doors. There is NO WAY to move the houses. Soon the lake will overcome many homes. The homes will be lost.

If you or anyone you know can shed some light on this issue, if you or anyone you know can do something about this issue, please contact me.

If you can't do anything about the water, you can pray. Pray the UN adds this issue to their list of operations before the houses are swallowed up by the lake.

Please contact Sherry or myself if you can offer any help.

For REAL Go Navy!

2008-09-26T12:36:00.000-07:00

Just a brief announcement. Today my son joined the Navy!

Go Navy!

2008-09-23T10:07:00.000-07:00

Go United States of America!
Go Navy!
Go Capt. Fernandez "Frank" Ponds!
Go men and women of the USS Kearsarge (LHD 3)

Captain Ponds stated there are "boots on the ground" in Haiti.
I personally would like to thank the United States government, the United States Navy, Captian Ponds and all of the men and women on the ground.

This is Continuing Promise 2008!
We don't read about the good things very often so I'd just like to point out that men and women from the USS Kearsarge were on the ground in Port au Prince, Morase, Calase, Bainet, Trois Ponts, Grand Saline and Belle Anse and I am sure many others cities, towns and villages.

They were delivering the 1,130 metric tons of relief supplies, including 29,550 gallons of water to devastated communities isolated by damaged roads and bridges.

The areas needing the most immediate assistance have been in support of and prioritized by U.S. Agency for International Development's (USAID) Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance (OFDA). Medical teams from Kearsarge, including embarked personnel from Canada and the United States Public Health Service, continue to work with other agencies working in the country - including the Center for Disease Control, Doctors Without Borders, the Pan American Health Organization, the United Nations and others - to provide limited medical services.

Air Force engineers and Navy Seabees continue to conduct assessments in some of the more heavily damaged areas where roads, bridges and critical infrastructures were destroyed by heavy rains and flooding from the storms.Kearsarge embarked personnel include service members from the Navy, Army, Air Force, Marines and Coast Guard, along with medical personnel from the U.S. Public Health Service, Canadian Army and Air Force, Brazil, Project Hope and International Aid.

Any U.S. military assistance to a foreign nation must be requested by the host nation through the U.S. ambassador. Then, as the lead federal agent, USAID's Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance fields the request and asks the Department of Defense for military assistance, if needed.

Why do I write about such things? Because the people of the world are good and I want to say thank you.

Lucia = Numbers

2008-09-12T12:47:00.000-07:00

Licia, the wonder woman I've talked about before... you'll remember her, she's the person who makes me look at numbers different.

Psalm 40

1-3 I waited and waited and waited for God. At last he looked; finally he listened. He lifted me out of the ditch, pulled me from deep mud. He stood me up on a solid rock to make sure I wouldn’t slip. He taught me how to sing the latest God-song, a praise-song to our God. More and more people are seeing this: they enter the mystery, abandoning themselves to God.

Why are her feet so muddy? Was she just posing for the camera?

One hole in the ground. What do you believe is in that hole? What in the world could Lucia be thinking now?

Oh, I've got it. You are going to put that water in a bucket to wash your feet?

What's that in the bucket Lucia? One cactus?

You put a cactus in the water? To make it cleaner? You think that's going to work?

You are going to strain that yucky water through 2 towels?

NOW you have to give 60 children a bath with that water?

Now you filter the water so you can drink it? Just how much water are you filtering 1 gallon at a time?

330 gallons of clean drinking water a day? Lucia, why? Why are you filtering water?

Click here to find out why Lucia is filtering water.

Lucia = 1 woman

Lucia + YOU= 2

PS. One more number

P.O. Box 23

Real Hope For Haiti
P.O. Box 23
Elwood, IN 46036

Broken Heart

2008-09-06T18:09:00.000-07:00

Story from AFP
In storm-battered Haiti, humanitarian crisis as 500 are killed

PORT-AU-PRINCE (AFP) — More than 500 people were found dead in Haiti as international aid trickled Saturday to desperate residents who have not eaten in days since the latest in a battery of storms crushed the country.
As the death toll jumped nearly five-fold in the wake of Tropical Storm Hanna, the poorest country in the Americas faced a likely new beating from Hurricane Ike, which strengthened to an "extremely dangerous" storm and threatened to dump heavy rains on Haiti's vulnerable northwest coast.
And more deaths could emerge.
"The toll is increasing hourly," warned the United Nations' Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). "According to information from the government we have reached more than 500 deaths" following Hanna, which hit Haiti early in the week.
The UN Children's Fund warned that 650,000 people have been affected by the flooding, including 300,000 children, and that key bridges have been washed out or blocked leaving many of the country's roads impassable and complicating the task of humanitarian groups trying to deliver crucial aid.
Ground zero of the devastation was in Gonaives, a flood-prone northwestern coast city where about 3,000 people died four years ago when it was drowned by Tropical Storm Jeanne.
Senator Yuri Latortue, who represents Gonaives, said 200,000 people have not eaten in days.
Massive deforestation has left Haiti vulnerable to flooding and mudslides. After Hanna struck, many residents took refuge on the roofs of their homes before they were rescued by UN helicopters.
From the air, the rivers were muddy brown as they spilled over into entire villages. Only the roofs of homes could be seen.
Blue-helmeted UN peacekeepers on Saturday were evacuating several thousand residents from Gonaives, a civil protection official there told AFP.
"The problem is that there are not enough shelters to house all these people, thousands of whom need to be evacuated," the official, Youdeline Joseph, said.
Kone Amara, the Haiti humanitarian assistance coordinator for the aid organization Oxfam, said the situation in Gonaives, a city of 300,000 people, was "very grave."
"There's no food in the city and people live in shelters with precarious hygienic conditions," Amara said.
The aid group had planned to ship 2,000 bottles of water with the help of the World Food Program, but it could not get a boat until at least Monday, he said.
Oxfam might take aid by road, but it wants to be escorted by the UN peacekeeping mission due to security concerns.
"The people on the road feel abandoned and don't want all the aid to be focused on Gonaives," Amara said.
Parnell Denis, the contact for Oxfam in Gonaives, said the city was "completely devastated."
"The streets are lined with groups of people walking through the streets trying to find higher ground," Denis said.
"Food supplies and water are scarce and the price of the food that's left is rising. The morale of people staying in the shelters is so very low; I am afraid to tell them that another storm is on its way."
Hurricane Ike was forecast to pass north of Haiti, sparing it from a direct hit, but it strengthened Saturday to a Category Four storm and was expected to lash northern Haiti with heavy rains, according to the US National Hurricane Center.
"They will still get pretty strong winds and rain... as well as the Dominican Republic," NHC forecaster Cristina Carrasco told AFP.
A tropical storm warning was issued for Haiti's northern peninsula. Radio alerts urged residents to take precautions as the storm could strike on Sunday.
Ike, now an "extremely dangerous" hurricane energized with winds of 215 kilometers (135 miles) per hour, was bearing down on Turks and Caicos and the southern Bahamas Saturday and was forecast to rage across Cuba late Sunday or Monday before heading towards the United States, the NHC said.
Haiti was already hit in recent weeks by two other storms, Gustav and Fay, which left nearly 120 people dead.
OCHA said it would issue an appeal in the coming days for urgent financial aid to help 600,000 people over the next six months.
In Brussels, the European Commission has launched "fast-track" aid action for two million euros (2.9 million dollars) to provide relief for Haitians.
Brazil, Canada, France, Spain, Switzerland, and the United States are among the nations whose governments have committed relief aid for Haiti.
Michele Pierre-Louis, Haiti's new prime minister who was approved Friday to take office after four months of political standstill, now will have to manage a grim humanitarian crisis.

Newsletters

2008-09-05T11:07:00.000-07:00

The following (with a few parts removed)is a news letter from my friend in Haiti.
September 2008

Dear Friends and Supporters of Clean Water for Haiti:

For the first time ever, I went out to our beach this morning and found it littered with tree-sized driftwood. Hurricane Hanna was supposed to be a tropical storm that lightly brushed Haiti's north coast but Monday afternoon it moved south, and it's been hitting the country with rain and wind for the past 36 hours. Here in Pierre Payen we've had 12 inches so far. We drove around the local area early this morning to see some of what happened and both the Montrouis and Pierre Payen rivers went well above flood levels. In Pierre Payen a number of people had the river flowing through their homes and one house I saw had all four walls washed away.

The Montrouis river Tuesday morning.

The Pierre Payen river Tuesday morning.

A local home under water.

Clean Water for Haiti is fine, except for a few broken branches. One of our workers had a boulder smash through the side of his house while he was sleeping, but I'll get to that later. The real tragedy of this storm is probably Gonaives. I say probably because there's no information in the media about Gonaives yet. Word of mouth is that the water went up to 12 levels of blocks, or about 8 feet. Some of you may remember reading about Hurricane Jeanne in September 2004 which flooded Gonaives last time around. Never before in living memory had so much water come into the city. There are three rivers that merge in Gonaives before flowing into the sea, and all three watersheds received torrential rains, combining to wash away over 2900 people and flood the homes of over 100,000 people. Just south of Gonaives there is a lowland depression several kilometers across which was mostly scrub brush and tall cactuses. After the flood, it remained submerged for over a year. Clean Water for Haiti brought in over 3000 filters to Gonaives in the months following the flood which were for the most part well received. Gonaives is a city with no sewer system and every well and every latrine were filled up with floodwater and mud. Thinking of that disaster repeating itself a mere 4 years later makes me feel queasy.

Saint Marc was also flooded but I have not yet seen the damage. There is very little traffic on the national highway today, and the road to Port au Prince has some very muddy places. I don't know if Saint Marc is passable, and Gonaives may only be accessible by large trucks. In 2004 we were able to get there in our Daihatsu truck but my feet were underwater as we drove through the deep parts.

Biosand filters are poorly suited to disaster relief. The best potable water effort after Hurricane Jeanne was up and running in days, by Oxfam if I remember correctly. They had big, diesel powered reverse osmosis filters that provided enough drinking water for the whole city, free. Biosand filters weigh 160 pounds and go in people's homes. They are a development tool, not a disaster relief one. However, it is so hard to know about people suffering without doing something to help. If I can figure out a way to effectively help people in the flood affected zone, we'll do it. If any of you are working in an affected area and are able to coordinate getting filters to those who have no access to drinking water, please contact me. We have about 200 filters ready to go at the moment.

Michel, one of our newer workers, dropped by here this morning and I overheard him saying "Roche tombe su kay la, tet chage. M'pa ka fe anyen, map degage." literally translated, that's "A rock fell on my house. My head is loaded. I can't do anything about it but I'll make do." I asked Michel if I could survey the damage, and we took a look. Well, a rock didn't fall on his house, it was a BOULDER. The house is quite modest - a mud and rock affair perched on a hillside. Michel was dozing on the home's one bed with his child and the boulder rolled down the hill and smashed through the wall of his house, throwing him and the child off the bed. It seems Michel is a master of understatement, something I have solid respect for. Michel also impressed me Tuesday morning by being the only one of Clean Water for Haiti's workers to show up for work - sharp at 6am. I told him we were taking a hurricane break!

Outside Michel’s house – the boulder that hit his house is behind this second one.
The surf became really high yesterday. Our old boat (which now belongs to a friend of ours but is still moored in the same place) became swamped and sank. No waves came over the wall, but they continue to come right up to it.

The old mission boat bobbing in the waves before it went under.

What the water in front of the mission looked like at 10:30 am on Tuesday.

I mentioned about the driftwood - it's remarkable to have driftwood here because any unwanted wood is immediately cut up and processed into charcoal. I suspect that all the driftwood will be claimed within the next few days. As I watched the swollen Montrouis river this morning, large branches and even whole trees went rushing past every few seconds.

Debris on the beach.

Please pray for Haiti as the storm rages on, even if you don't normally do that. There's another storm, Ike, on the way and it's predicted to reach category 2 before it brushes Haiti as opposed to Hanna's 1. I can't imagine it being worse, but praying is still a good idea. We're thankful that all of our own people and equipment are okay, and especially for our new roof, which doesn't leak a drop.

LATE EDIT: On Wednesday evening the Montrouis bridge started to sink. The Montrouis bridge is the only connection for a good part of the country between the north and the south. If the bridge goes out we are essentially cut off from the capital where most supplies come from. Hanna has affected all of Haiti, not just a specific area. Please keep everyone here in your prayers.

On behalf of everyone at Clean Water for Haiti,

Chris & Leslie Rolling
Executive Directors

Contact Us In Haiti:
Chris – info@cleanwaterforhaiti.org
Leslie – office@cleanwaterforhaiti.org
Phone: (intn’l code)+ 509-547-3210
Donations can be sent to:
In Canada:
Clean Water for Haiti
c/o Vernon Alliance Church
2601 43rd Ave.
Vernon, BC V1T 3L1

In the US:
Clean Water for Haiti
4606 NW Grant Place
Vancouver, WA 98663

Contact our Fundraising Directors:
In Canada:
John Carruthers – John.Carruthers@enbridge.com
In the US:
Barb Jonusaitis – barbj@cleanwaterforhaiti.org

Water, water and none to drink

2008-09-04T13:32:00.001-07:00

This is the second time I've written a blog about water, water and none to drink. Haiti is still flooded with people sitting on the rooftops waiting for help... which most likely not come. Please keep praying for Haiti.

Flooding in Haiti

2008-09-03T13:06:00.000-07:00

*Gonaives, Haiti is under water.
*Floodwaters swamped a hospital in the Les Cayes area, forcing nurses to move patients to higher floors.
*MINUSTAH peacekeepers have distributed drinking water to about 10,000 people in Cité Soleil, one of the poorest neighbourhoods of the capital, Port-au-Prince

Please pray help arrives soon.

Pictures from MiamiHerald.com

ONE

2008-08-21T07:17:00.000-07:00

One by One
Why join? As our numbers grow, so does our influence. Togethere we can show our leaders that Americans demand and end to global poverty and AIDS.

Time to get ready for school!

2008-08-19T10:08:00.000-07:00

On Friday my daughter started her senior year of high school. Because she's a very mature and responsible girl,(read-didn't really want MOM to help) I didn't go school shopping with her.

(Pretend you see a picture of a sad faced mother here)

When she returned she had bought 6 folders, 6 three ring binders, pens, pencils, paper, colored markers, some sort of bulletin board for her locker, a purse, a bookbag, tennis shoes, 5 pair of jeans, 10 shirts, a pair of capri's, a jacket, a sweatshirt and a bunch of stickers for fun. That trip was about $500.

I'm sure it could have been more except for the fact she loves the clearance rack!

There are several schools where the children are attending every day and most do not have pencils and paper - let alone all of the other items that are usually on a kids list for school supplies. Here is their school list.

#2 Pencils
Pens (blue or black ink)
8-12 Markers
Box of Colored Pencils
24 Count Crayons
Pencil Sharpener
12" Ruler metric measurements
1 Large Pink Pearl Eraser
Notebooks
Paper Notebook folders
$5 for school uniforms
Notebook Paper

I wandered down the dollar store isle and found the total cost for the items they were requesting was $15.00 plus the $5 for school uniforms.

Twenty bucks. Just $20 and a child could go have all of the necessary items to go to school. Do you miss having children at your house? Are you the mom (like me) who didn't get to go school shopping? Are you a National Honor Society member like my daughter who believes that learning is important? Do you just have an extra $20?

Send it to:

Most High Ministries
PO Box 180391
Tallahassee, FL 32318
(850)766-3022
(850)201-5037
Email: scott@mosthighministries.com

Or visit their web page at Most High Ministries

Send one kid to school this year! And it won't cost you more than the price of one pair of jeans at the dollar store!

"I praised the Most High; I honored and glorified him who lives forever. His dominion is an eternal dominion; his kingdom endures from generation to generation. " Daniel 4:34b

The Coolest Home Addition You've EVER Seen, It's ours! Take a look

Vicki's Vision

My picture page

If we are able...

2008-08-04T10:21:00.000-07:00

Today a life long friend and I exchanged e-mails. He is a retired Navy guy. He's been there, done that. We don't usually talk politics, but we do talk stupidity.
The e-mails went like this:

Him:
I'm all for fair play, so I looked up Sen. Obama because 143 days didn't seem correct, and it's not.
Below is what I was able to find out from each of their respective web pages myself.

John McCain - Congress 2 terms
Senate - 21 Years
Military- 26 yrs 4 mo

Barrack Obama - Congress 0
Senate - 3 years 7 months (1312 days)

Me: I would have never figured you for an Obama man.

Him:
No, I am not, but this is like the unruly child, give the country what it is whining for, and see if they like what they get. It will be a great social and leadership experiment, well worth the entertainment value. Besides, I would like to watch how Obama grows over the first 2 years, I think he will surprise all of us.

And I would like all of our forces back home. One of my nephews, XXXXX (I took the guys name out), 16 years in Army, was just sent over for his 5th tour in Iraq. If you ever get to go back and watch the news archives when the Army tanks came into Tikrit, he was among the first.
After the 4th tour, all of his guys were dead, he is the last one. Now they sent him over and I fear this is his last one. His wife miscarried after hearing he was going back over after only 3 months back home. He had just made Master Sergeant (E-8), and most of the E8's are quitting because of the political mess caused by our "leadership". XXXXX has a good view as the E7 - E9 group make up the bridge between officer and enlisted.

I am praying for him, but I think he was just sent over to his death this time, I have a bad feeling. Please say a prayer for he and his wife and for the loss of their child due to the stress of this last assignment. Death to our service members is not only in the form of the service person, but also to their wives and children, many unborn. The so called "news media" needs to do a report on this perspective.

I would like to put every politician in uniform and on street duty in Iraq for one month in the summer during their "vacation", do it one time, and many things would change.
Later; now I am upset. :-(

Give the country what it is whining for
and see if they like what they get.

That's the sentence that says so much.

I'll just let you ponder his very insightful statement. We'll talk next year at this time.... if we are all able.

The Coolest Home Addition You've EVER Seen, It's ours! Take a look
Vicki's Vision
My picture page

Where's the legs??

2008-07-22T08:05:00.000-07:00

There is this guy, Mark... he's pretty funny actually. He is helping a bunch of kids in a far off land. He posted this cute picture on his blog and since I am a "farmer" of sorts myself. I got a kick out of it.

Below the picture it says:

They cut their legs off so they can't get away.

Oh Mark you are one funny guy! Check Mark out at his blog.

Love is something you DO

2008-07-21T07:20:00.000-07:00

In our family, one of the very first songs our babies learn how to sing is
"Fishers of Men"

I will make you fishers of men, (throw out the fishing line)
Fishers of men, (throw out the fishing line)
Fishers of men, (throw out the fishing line)
I will make you fishers of men, (throw out the fishing line)
If you follow Me. (motion to come with me)

If you follow Me, (motion to come with me)
If you follow Me, (motion to come with me)
I will make you fishers of men, (throw out the fishing line)
If you follow Me. (motion to come with me)

Hear Christ calling (put your hand up to your ear)
Come unto Me,(motion to come with me)
Come unto Me, (motion to come with me)
Come unto Me,(motion to come with me)
Hear Christ calling, (put your hand up to your ear)
Come unto Me, (motion to come with me)
I will give You rest, (put your head on your hands)
I will give You rest, (put your head on your hands)
I will give You rest, (put your head on your hands)
Hear Christ calling, (put your hand up to your ear)
Come unto Me,motion to come with me)
I will give you rest. (put your head on your hands)

This song is so fun to sing with little children because, long before they are able to remember the words or how the tune goes... they remember the body motions that go with the song.

You start singing the song and they automatically start the motion. Fun, fun, fun.

Missionary Bobby Burnette says, "Love is not something you just talk about love is something you do."

So "DO" sing this song with your children and grandchildren. You'll be happy when you see your little baby praising God, even before they are old enough to talk.

I mentioned Bobby and Sherry because they are missionaries in Haiti and they like to "do".

Whether they are building churches and schools, like this one in Le Tant, or holding a mobile medical clinic in a mountain village, Love A Child works every day to help the people of Haiti. In Le Tant, we are building block houses for poor families and individuals to replace mud and stick huts. In Fond Parisien, we built a fish farm near our orphanage to provide fresh tilapia. We dig wells and distribute seeds to farmers, we even raise goats!

See... you knew somehow I'd get back around to goats didn't you!!! I do love my goats!

This is not my song "Fishers of Men" but it's a nice new version. I though maybe you'd like to hear it...

Matthew 4:19 Then He said to them, "Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men."

Put your money where your mouth is!

2008-07-08T12:22:00.000-07:00

I just joined Kiva and it was more fun than shopping on E-bay! First go to Kiva.org, at the top of the page you'll see register. Click on that. Sign up to become a member. Next - click on View all entrepreneurs.

Now, just take a look at the groups in front of you. There are groups from North America, South America, Central America, Africa, Asia, Middle East and Eastern Europe.

The groups or individuals are people - REAL PEOPLE who need loans. The reasons for the loans are many. Some are building their business, some are buying stock and inventory, some are wanting to buy an ox.

An ox? Yes, an ox. You know, the kind brown, four legs, moos, gives milk sometimes, carries heavy objects.

Every one on Kiva is a deserving individual who wants to borrow money. Scroll down the list and find someone you can lend money to.
Today, I loaned money to the Llegando Lejos (Going Far) Groups 1 & 3

Eugenia, the group leader, has five children, ages 2, 6, 7, 11 and 16. She lives in a batey (which is a very poor community) of Haitian families in El Seibo, Dominican Republic. Families that live in bateys have small houses generally made of scrap tin and wood; the best possible accommodation is a cement-block house. These ¨houses¨ consist of only one room where the whole family lives together. To provide for her family, Eugenia has a small business killing chickens and selling their meat in neighboring bateys. In order to travel between bateys, Eugenia pays a small fee to ride on the back of a motorcycle.
By receiving loans, she and the other members of the Bank of Hope are better able to survive the economic fluctuations and frequent sicknesses that make work hard and volatile. With this next loan, Eugenia hopes to further grow her business by buying more chickens and travelling to more bateys. Someday she dreams of owning her own house. Eugenia also wants to be able to provide the best for her children, including a good education, so that they will have a bright future.

Please become a loaner.

V

Why Father Marc?

2008-07-02T12:43:00.000-07:00

He's a Navy guy! (Don't you just love men in uniform? Of course I'm a little partial because my son is in the service... November 2008 update. BOTH of my sons are in the Navy!) Marc Boisvert has inspired enough people to raise enough money to buy over 100 acres, built two schools, an orphanage and a soup kitchen. In my opinion, he is the poster child for "CAN DO".

I write this blog every day hoping to inspire you to find a cause. Any cause.

I think because we are humans and are always - always- always questioning power! Any power, be it your boss, your spouse, your government or your God. We question always WHY. I bet you are sitting there wondering to yourself, why does she want me to have a cause?

Here is why...I want you to just take it for granted that Matthew is telling us the truth and giving you the reason why you need a cause. Who's Matthew you ask? Well he's a tax collector and as Forest Gump would say, "That's all I have to say about that."

Anyway Matthew said:

When God is ready to judge all of us we will be judged equally. Everyone will be asked the same questions and God will save those who have been obedient. If you read Matthew's words you will know that without a doubt those who have fed the hungry, welcomed a stranger, given clothing to the naked and cared for the sick and those in prison. Will be saved.

Father Marc has a cause and he didn't sit around wondering why.

He ACTED!

Do you want to know why he knows the first name of over 600 children?Do you want to know why he knows them?

Hmmm.... he doesn't ask why... he provides over 1,200 children with academic and vocational educations and manages to see to it that 3,000 meals are prepared and served daily.

He believes Matthew and on Thursday, December 01, 2005 Father Marc wrote:

This is a photo of a little boy I saw this morning in a run-down orphanage not too far from here. The 65 children there have no beds, no extra clothes, and most do not go to school. The director of the orphanage has sold all his worldly possessions in order to buy food for the kids and it is almost all gone. These children need your help. Please pray that some generous persons respond and provide these poor children with the hope for a better tomorrow. Maybe that generous person is you or someone you know. Pray, pray for these children of God.

When I read what he wrote, I was so amazed. He wasn't asking why this was happening, he was just asking us to pray.

He didn't think, "Gosh I should pray for my own work........" He prayed for the orphanage that was failing.

Isn't it just the greatest thing, that when you pray, you don't only have one prayer? You are allowed to pray for as many as you want and the prayer you gave away, won't take away from your prayers! Your allotment of prayers will never run out. I've found infact, the more I pray, the more I have to pray about!

Back to who has inspired me today. Father Marc.

His children live at Hope Village. Please take time and read his blog because if I can't inspire you to find a cause, I have faith that he can.

I believe Matthew 25 speaks to me and I pray it speaks to you when you are looking for a cause.

...for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.

So don't ask why. Simply - Just do it!

It's a bunch of crocs!

2008-07-01T09:56:00.000-07:00

As I was leaving my sisters new home last week I saw a pair of crocs sitting by the garage door. My first thought was, "My sister wears crocs?!!!???!" I just couldn't believe that. She's just not the croc type of woman. Seeing those crocs prompted me to tell her to make sure she recycles them and not to just pitch them in the garbage can when she was tired of them or she thought they were worn out.

She didn't know what I was talking about... so I told her.

Go HERE to find a place which will take your old crocs.

Or send them to:
crocs recycling - west3375 enterprise ave.bloomington, CA 92316
crocs recycling - east1500 commodity blvd.lockbourne, OH 43137

Now you may be asking why in the world wouldn't I just put them in the local Goodwill box? And If you've been following my blogs at all, you know I LOVE Goodwill... so why not just donate them there?

Here's why.

First you wear your crocs shoes until the tread becomes worn and they reach their end-of-life.
Then you share your old crocs by donating your worn-out crocs shoes at participating retail locations.

Next they get recycled
The once worn-out crocs footwear are received, they are sorted, ground up and made into new SolesUnited recycled shoes.

The recycled shoes are loaded into containers and are picked up at the warehouse by our shipping partners, who then send them to approved non-profit organizations around the world.

Would you like to see where some shoes got some action?

Partners In Health (PIH)

Now after watching that video, I feel so much better about my sister wearing crocs. I hope that you too will remember what to do when your crocs are worn out.

"Children of Israel" Orphanage for Kids

2008-06-27T14:36:00.001-07:00

Isn't this just the cutest picture? Eating mangos. Yum, yum...

The Children of Israel Orphanage for Kids shared this picture.

I don't know Nora Leon and she doesn't know me. What I do know about her is she's special.

Visit her web site and read for yourself.

Who are these people?

2008-06-17T20:10:00.000-07:00

Everyday I look for new information on the great WWW for new "stuff" on Haiti. Today, I found some other people who blog about Haiti. I don't know who they are but would feel very honored to meet them.
Find Christopher Cozier here. He said, ". I kept thinking that no one growing child could have worn that shoe long enough for it to become so worn down."

My next blog stop today is Licia she signs in her Xanga site as "No I'm not a nurse" But let me tell you, she's got more power than a nurse...she is a miracle worker!

If you are like me and need to know exactly who you can help, you will want to visit her blog. If you need a reason to say a prayer, visit her blog. If you haven't opened your heart today and given of your time or money, send it to her. She's a real person and she helps lots of real little people!
As I looked at what she wrote on her blog, it gave me a reason to look at numbers in a different way.

numbers…
13-years I have lived in haiti
69-children with charts that are living in the RC
3-other children living in RC
6-adults in the RC
0-space to sleep
10-days since Lori posted (hint, hint)
52-plates of rice served today at lunch
17-babies
25- dozen eggs will be eaten this week
2-children I turned away today…I am hoping they will live
15-kids on list ready to go home
2-sets of twins
8-women who wash 6 days a week for the RC
3-meals served at the RC
2-snacks served at the RC
2-gallons of oil per week
45-chicken legs per week
15-packs of hotdogs per week
8-children that are currently abandoned at the RC
1-child admitted today
1-child sent home today
4-gallons of vitamins per month
74-employees on payroll
4-days of school left for the betor boys!
9-people that sleep in my house
1-husband, brother, sister, father
30-gallons of water drank at the RC per DAY
24-times walked up and down stairs today
0-days if I have wondered if this is where I am to be
17-month on Carmelo’s adoption
7-years since he was burned
10-hours without water (again)

I will just add to her list of numbers:
11.40-10% of my daily wages which I will now send to her.

WE can build an orphanage

2008-06-13T13:09:00.000-07:00

Imagine thousands of people coming together to build a home for AIDS orphans in Haiti
...with nothing but the power of the Internet

Folks, you have to watch this video. Just send a dollar. Just send five dollars, just send ten. It doesn't matter, you just need to help.