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Sous les belles étoiles
Today, I heard one of the most beautiful and most heartbreaking things of my life. It’s something I’ll always carry with me — and perhaps the one phrase I’ll attach to my time in Haiti. Rosemarie, who works in the kitchen of Port-au-Prince's main hospital, dishes out rice that will be delivered in a meal for each patient. Photo: Roger Burks/Mercy Corps I was at Port-au-Prince’s main hospital again, checking on how the food we’d delivered was being cooked and taken to patients. Even before I entered the kitchen, I knew what was on the stove: chicken and sauce. When I went in and talked to the kitchen crew, I also found out that they were making rice and beans — and were just about to do another round of deliveries to the various tents around the hospital grounds. So I followed along. We wound down the pathways of the sprawling hospital complex, past one fallen building and a couple that have been closed off because of earthquake damage, to a set of tents that are temporary home to injured and recovering children. As volunteers passed out the meals to grateful families, I took time to talk to a few parents. One of them was 36-year-old Claricia Basaent, mother of two injured children, including 11-year-old Nadine. Nadine sustained internal injuries as their house collapsed around them in the midst of the earthquake, which led to an emergency appendectomy here at the hospital. She’s doing better now, besides some soreness and a big bandage on her stomach, and taking a few small steps each day to gain her footing again. Today was only the second time since the earthquake that Nadine has had a hot lunch — the first was yesterday, when the hospital kitchen started making meals from Mercy Corps-donated supplies. Before this, she subsisted on whatever was brought in by small organizations and volunteer doctors: mostly crackers and other small sustenance. Claricia Basaent and her daughter Nadine. Photo: Roger Burks/Mercy Corps When she leaves the hospital after visiting hours are over, Claricia is still subsisting on whatever she can find, mostly sporadic food distributions from international organizations. She can’t afford to buy food since losing everything when the earthquake took her house. I asked Claricia where she slept at night. And her smile stunned me almost as much as her answer did. “Sous les belles étoiles," she said. Under the beautiful stars. I smiled back, shook her hand and told her we’d keep doing everything we could to help. As I walked away to talk with more families, I kept imagining the place where Claricia drifts off to sleep. Perhaps I’d even been through her neighborhood. But, mostly, I thought about those beautiful stars and how all of us are beneath them. I don’t think I’ll ever look at the night sky in quite the same way.
27 January 2010
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Article
Big band aids, big heart
Amiri Horn could well be the youngest fundraiser in Mercy Corps’ history. Just three and a half, he saw the devastation in Haiti on the news and knew right away he wanted to help. First Amiri asked his mother, Ayana, if he could set up a lemonade stand. No, she said, it’s too wet and cold out. Next, he wanted to collect money for band aids. “They need really big band aids to help them feel better,” he said. So Amiri and his mom set up a personal fundraising page on the Mercy Corps website. So far, he’s raised an impressive $630. Best of all, the next time he saw the news, Amiri noticed a picture of a child with a fresh bandage on his head. “Hey, that’s my band aid on his head – I helped him get that!” Amiri is proud to be making a real contribution. He’s now aiming to raise $1,000 on his fundraising page – and he even managed to convince his mom to let him do a lemonade stand, too.
27 January 2010
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Comforting kids in Haiti
Trying to get to Port-Au-Prince is no easy task. After being bumped and having another flight cancelled from Santo Domingo, I finally made it to ground zero, albeit a day later than planned. My concerns and trepidation about what I would encounter were validated as soon as I landed. To say that our task - my task, specifically - is great is a vast understatement. So here we are, 15 days after the earthquake struck and 15 days since the lives of tens of thousands of Haitian children have been turned upside down by disaster and tragedy. Really, there's no child in the Port-Au-Prince area and beyond that doesn't need long-term help. So how to do it? First of all, there are the very primary audiences that are most greatly affected by this disaster - the newly orphaned and those already orphaned prior. To begin with, an initial shipment of Comfort Kits for kids will be distributed in the coming days. The shipment will leave North Carolina hopefully tomorrow and will include age-appropriate kits containing comfort items: blankets, picture books, tooth brushes and tooth paste. Once they arrive, we will be distributing them to some of the most affected orphanages. It's only a start, but we have to start somewhere. As for rolling out the full Comfort for Kids program? My hope is to begin next week. Ideally, on Feb 1. My task today is to find local resources - professionals, care takers, teachers - to assemble a staff that will help launch the program. Little by little, we will be developing the program until we can begin training as many people as possible so that our project and its benefits can mushroom around this city and country. Stay tuned - I hope to have significant progress to report in the next couple of days.
27 January 2010
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Haiti Response Team
Mercy Corps has deployed an A-team of humanitarian first responders. These experts from around the world have collective experience that includes responses to the China earthquake (2008), Cyclone Nargis in Myanmar (2008), and Hurricane Katrina (2005).. Leading our response is Richard Jacquot, who has directed our relief operations in the war-torn Democratic Republic of the Congo, cyclone-battered Myanmar and the U.S. Gulf Coast in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Carol Ward -- an emergency response manager who specializes in food security issues -- has taken part in Mercy Corps crisis operations in countries including Uganda, Lebanon, Myanmar and, most recently, Samoa. Gene Kunze brings 10 years of experience in humanitarian work and served as program director for our emergency response to China's Sichuan earthquake in 2008. Jenny Vaughn is a current member of our conflict-management team who recently served as our Head of Office in the Central African Republic, one of the world's poorest countries. Mugur Dumitrache is a crisis-tested water and sanitation advisor who's brought innovative solutions to the aftermath of dozens of disasters, including last year's earthquake in Indonesia. Cassandra Nelson has worked in dozens of disaster and war zones -- including Iraq, Afghanistan and post-tsunami Indonesia -- and served frequently as Mercy Corps' spokesperson in the field.
18 January 2010
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Edinburgh Launches City Appeal for Quake Stricken Haiti
An urgent appeal has been launched today to raise funds for the island nation of Haiti after it was struck by a severe 7.3 magnitude earthquake on Tuesday. Tens of thousands of people are feared to have died and many more have been left injured, traumatised and homeless. Basic services and communications have collapsed, any hospitals that are still standing are overwhelmed and survivors are increasingly vulnerable to disease, hunger and dehydration. The Edinburgh Disaster Response Committee is calling on people in the city to donate to the appeal via Mercy Corps to help survivors of the disaster. There is an immediate need for funds to enable us to deliver basic essentials like food, water and shelter. Getting boots on the ground and aid to survivors in the first few days is absolutely critical in terms of minimising further casualties and beginning the helping people get back on to their feet. Mercy Corps has deployed an emergency response team to Haiti. The team is comprised of experts who have responded to devastating disasters such as Hurricane Katrina, the Wenchuan earthquake in China and Cyclone Nargis in Myanmar. The team will also focus on Mercy Corps’ strength: Helping communities rapidly transition from immediate relief to long-term rebuilding and recovery efforts. How You Can Help: Please Donate Now via the link on the right If you are interested in organising a fundraising event of your own, there is a fundraising pack below filled with helpful tips and advice. You can also download the attached A4 and A3 size posters to put up in your place of work. EDRC HAITI Appeal Poster - A4.pdfPDF Format, 944.56 KB EDRC HAITI Appeal Poster - A3.pdfPDF Format, 960.74 KB Mercy Corps Fundraising Pack.pdfPDF Format, 1.53 MB
15 January 2010