This is not an earthquake story, this is a poverty story.

I heard the above quote on the radio the other day as the talking heads discussed Haiti. The man being interviewed made the point that a few years ago we had a 7.2 earthquake on the West coast of this country and 62 people died. Yet a 7. earthquake in Haiti devastates the nation. And because of poor infrastructure, poor health care, poor government, many many more Haitians will die before this weeks ends. Where to begin? How to start addressing the problem?

Right now, of course, the country needs professionals and money. Professionals to come in and help with the rescue effort and money to make it all happen. There are so very many places you can donate it boggles the mind. Everything I have read indicates that you should choose an established charity all ready working in Haiti. Of course there are the big ones and there is this handy site to help you navigate your giving. But there are also the lesser know people doing amazing work in Haiti. My brother in law alerted me to Crossworld , a mission he has worked with. He also forwarded the link to the Mat and Pam McCormick's blog as they work with FIM in Haiti.

Eventually, though, country will need supplies, layman work teams and, who are we kidding, lots more money! My problem is that I have 4 kids, age 6 and under with a very limited concept of money. We pray for the people in Haiti, we give money for the people in Haiti, but to them it is another world away and they cannot grasp the enormity of the devastation.

In an effort to make the children feel more involved and to allow them to help in a tangible way, Molly and Paige and I came up with this idea:: The IOCC (International Orthodox Christian Charities) has a list of kits that will be needed in the months ahead in Haiti. We have decided to gather as many supplies as possible and together with our little families, assemble the kits and send them off! The kits will be shipped to Church World Service, who will then distribute them as needed. They will need thousands and thousands of these kits.

I am including our little "flier" below, and if any of you live in the Chesterton area, feel free to drop off some supplies! We are excited to do this and the kids are so happy they can be a part of giving to others. So buy some toothbrushes and come on down!

We are gathering much needed supplies for relief efforts in Haiti.The IOCC (International Orthodox Christian Charities) organization is asking for assistance in assembling desperately needed emergency hygiene kits. We (Paige, Kris, and I) will assemble these kits on SATURDAY, JANUARY the 23rd. We need your help!! Please review the following list and consider picking up, while you're at the store, a few of these essential items. You can drop them off at Molly's house (see address below) anytime before Saturday! If you have any questions, let me know!

Items needed:

hand towels
washcloths
combs
metal nail file or nail clippers
bars of soap (bath size, new and wrapped in original packaging)
toothbrushes (NO TOOTHPASTE)
Band-Aids
one gallon zip lock bags
monetary donation towards shipping costs

Drop off site:
319 E. Morgan Ave.
Chesterton, IN 46304