(by 6 people)
I have nothing to give...
Presuming as you read this that you are in the majority who were outside the direct touch of the following, think about how you feel when you hear or read about disasters such as Hurricane Katrina, the tsunami of 2004, 9/11, the Greensburg tornado, massive earthquakes, death and destruction and desolation. For most of us ~ or shall I say, for me ~ I have only read about these in the news and never been a direct "participant." I thank God for that, but I am not spared from yearning to help. Yet I feel helpless because... what can I do?
As I write this lens on May 7, 2008, I am reading about the cyclone that hit Myanmar. In Bogalay alone, I read that, as of today, in one village of 369 homes, only 4 remain, and the death toll is over 100,000. Of the temporary shelters that have been set up, there is only enough food and fuel for, maybe, the next two days. After that, they have no answer.
I want to help, but although I have food to last me longer than two days, still I feel I have nothing, no means to help. It is a horrible feeling.
Hurricanes of 2008
In the last two weeks, Hurricanes Fey and Gustav brought devastation to everything and everyone in their paths. Today, September, 7, 2008, the news for Haiti, Cuba, Florida, and the Gulf Coast continues to report and predict more devastation, more trauma, upheaval, death, and destruction with Hurricanes Hanna and now Ike.
Can you imagine, losing everything except the clothes on your back? No shelter, no food, no clean water, no comfort of any kind. Open and exposed and vulnerable, completely at the mercy of your surroundings and, please God, anyone in the world who might care.
Our help is needed! I hope you will read through this lens and discover ways to help those who have lost literally everything. Please help.
Can you imagine, losing everything except the clothes on your back? No shelter, no food, no clean water, no comfort of any kind. Open and exposed and vulnerable, completely at the mercy of your surroundings and, please God, anyone in the world who might care.
Our help is needed! I hope you will read through this lens and discover ways to help those who have lost literally everything. Please help.
Ways to help
Sometimes all I think I have is yearning. But what about that spare change that's been sitting in my wallet for the last four months? When do I use cash anymore...? I can put that change into the offering plate at church, or give it to the Salvation Army. I could deposit it into my checking account and write a check to any charity. Here are some places that would be happy for whatever you or I can give.
Fetching RSS feed... please stand by"100% of my earnings on this lens go to Hope for Haiti."
Why Haiti?
The history of Haiti begins many centuries before Christopher Columbus, bumbling his way through the western hemisphere, claimed he had found India again, and promptly set about taking over yet another piece of land. However, its history as I know it begins with Columbus.When Columbus "discovered" the island we now know as Haiti, it was populated by a highly sophisticated and reportedly gentle people, the Tainos. The Spanish took over the island, enslaving the Tainos and destroying them. Within only 25 years, the Tainos were annihilated through slavery, massacres, and disease. It was a total genocide, wiping out the entire bloodline.
Then the French came and fought against Spain for the island, which Columbus had renamed Española, or Little Spain. During all this time of about 100 years, slaves were brought from Africa and Spain, completely changing the demographics of Haiti. By 1789, the colony's population was about 4% white, 7% mulatto, and 88% black.
Two years later, when the whites and mulattos were fighting among themselves to gain greater political control, the blacks began a rebellion in earnest. Coinciding with the French Revolution, this rebellion and the leaders who emerged from it ultimately resulted in the island declaring independence from France.
Haiti "emerged into the world as the first black independent republic on January 1st, 1804. Its revolution against colonialism and slavery was the first successful black movement resulting into an independent state headed by blacks. On January 1, 1804, the heroes of the Independence, to honor the memory of the Indians who had been massacred by the Spanish, renamed the island under its original Taino name, Haiti. Haiti in Taino means 'High land', 'high ground' or 'mountainous land'." (Synopsis of Haitian History)
Today, "Haiti is the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, with 80% of the population living under the poverty line and 54% in abject poverty. Two-thirds of all Haitians depend on the agricultural sector, mainly small-scale subsistence farming, and remain vulnerable to damage from frequent natural disasters, exacerbated by the country's widespread deforestation." (CIA World Factbook - Haiti)
For many years, I have felt compassion toward Haiti as I have not for anywhere else in the world. The news is rarely good coming out of that country. It is mired in poverty. Floods and also drought have ravaged the land. And yet the people survive. They thrive. They know and love their land just as people do in all nations of the earth.
I admit, I have never been to Haiti, I have never met a Haitian. I know I'm imagining substance and personality. Still, in my admitted imagination, the people of Haiti are strong and proud. Ferocious. Traits I admire and respect.
Haiti
Artwork and photographs about and by Haitians. All of these ~ and more ~ are available at Art.com. Whatever you purchase through this lens, you can help support Hope for Haiti.
Houses and People Walking in a Dry Riverbed...Lousie Murray Buy From Art.com
Houses and People Walking in a Dry Riverbed...Lousie Murray Buy From Art.com
Could you give a box of crayons? A spool of thread? A flat sheet? A pillow?
So often we think we have to give in a big way in order to have an impact. Recent TV shows that promote this idea are great, and a lot of people are helped, but they detract from what the rest of us can do. We can't all give in a big way, but we still want to give. Anyone with any compassion, wants to help.
So, how about giving a box of 24 crayons, or a new pack of needles & a spool of thread? Or ruled paper, or a hand towel, a bar of soap? In my city, the United Methodist church is focusing on building sewing kits that allow people who have lost all but the clothes on their backs to make clothing in the styles and sizes they need. Independence rather than dependence.
The sewing kits need only five new things: 3 yards of cotton or cotton-blend, uncut cloth; a pair of sewing scissors, a pack of needles, a spool of thread, and 5-8 buttons. The church here will collect completed kits, or separate pieces. If all I can give is a new spool of thread, that is what I can give, but even a complete sewing kit probably will cost less than $20. But imagine what that kit will mean for a woman who needs to sew a shirt or two for her children, or a dress for herself. Dignity has no price.
At the United Methodist church in my city, they will collect everything, assemble kits from the parts, and send the completed kits to the warehouse in Louisiana, which sends the kits to areas with the greatest need.
Please check with your local United Methodist church to see if they are also collecting items for sewing kits. Or, go to the United Methodist Committee on Reliefto find out how to assemble and send the sewing kits, yourself.
Haiti
Artwork and photographs about and by Haitians. All of these ~ and more ~ are available at Art.com. Whatever you purchase through this lens, you can help support Hope for Haiti.
Haitian Art Andre Pierre Buy From Art.com
Haitian Art Andre Pierre Buy From Art.com
Relief supply kits you can send
The United Methodist Committee on Relief is always ready to receive your donations of money or sewing kits, school kits, health kits, and so on.
At UMCOR, click on the Kit Instruction Sheets to get complete information on how to assemble and send one kit, or many kits.
Remember, all supplies must be new. If you want to help, but don't want to make and send kits, you may also send money so UMCOR can buy supplies to make them.
At UMCOR, click on the Kit Instruction Sheets to get complete information on how to assemble and send one kit, or many kits.
Remember, all supplies must be new. If you want to help, but don't want to make and send kits, you may also send money so UMCOR can buy supplies to make them.
- The complete Sewing Kit will contain:
3 yards of cotton or cotton-blend, solid color or print fabric (must be 3 yards of uncut fabric)
1 pair sewing scissors
1 package of needles
1 spool of thread
5-8 matching buttons - The complete School Kit will contain:
1 pair blunt scissors (rounded tip)
3 pads (or loose leaf) of 8 1/2" x 11" ruled paper
1 30-centimeter ruler
1 hand held pencil sharpener
6 unsharpened pencils with erasers
1 eraser, 2 1/2"
1 box of 24 crayons (only 24) - The complete Layette Kit will contain:
6 cloth diapers
2 shirts or 2 one-piece body suits
2 baby washcloths
2 gowns or sleepers
2 diaper pins
1 sweater open in the front
2 receiving blankets - The complete Health Kit will contain:
1 hand towel (15" x 25" up to 17" x 27", no kitchen towels)
1 washcloth
1 comb (large and sturdy, not pocket-sized)
1 nail file or fingernail clippers (no emery boards or toenail clippers)
1 bath-size bar of soap (3 oz. and up)
1 toothbrush (single brushes only in original wrapper, no child-size brushes)
6 adhesive plastic strip sterile bandages - The complete Flood Bucket will contain:
5-gallon bucket with re-sealable lid
Bleach (two 1-quart or one 82 oz. bottle. Do not include bleach if you are
shipping the bucket through the US Postal Service, UPS or FedEx)
5 scouring pads
7 sponges
1 scrub brush
18 cleaning towels (reusable wipes)
Liquid laundry detergent (two 25 oz. or one 50 oz. bottle)
1 household cleaner, 12-16 oz. bottle
Disinfectant dish soap, 16-28 oz. bottle
50 clothes pins
Clothes line (two 50 ft. or one 100 ft.)
5 dust masks
2 pair latex gloves
1 pair work gloves
24-bag roll of heavy-duty trash bags, 33-45 gallon (remove roll from box before placing in bucket)
1 Insect repellant spray, 6-14 oz. can (If aerosol, cans must have protective caps. See Special Requirements)
1 Air freshener, 8 or 9 oz. can (If aerosol, cans must have protective caps. See Special Requirements) - The complete Bedding Kit will contain:
2 flat double-bed sheets
2 pillowcases
2 pillows
Here's my favorite link:
Haiti
Artwork and photographs about and by Haitians. All of these ~ and more ~ are available at Art.com. Whatever you purchase through this lens, you can help support Hope for Haiti.
A Water Vendor Walks in the Streets ... Buy From Art.com
A Water Vendor Walks in the Streets ... Buy From Art.com
There are many ways to give
Pay it Forward
At first I feel helpless. My God! What can I do that will help these people? But with some research, there is an answer. The answer is not always money. And, the answer is not always directly related to the particular disaster in question. Our world is interconnected....
- Living the Question: Trees for Life International
- I lived my life as a statement, until I met someone whose life asked a question.
Back when my life was a statement, I appeared to "have it made." I had a successful career, family, financial security ~ all that I had been told would bring true happiness. So why wasn't I truly happy?
Advances in communication had brought the world into my home, and in 1985 I witnessed the horror of thousands of children in Ethiopia dying from starvation. Having children of my own, I couldn't help but ask myself, "What would it feel like to watch my own children die because they had nothing to eat? What would I do?" - Impact Your World - Special Reports from CNN.com
- When disaster strikes or horrible events unfold, these are opportunities to effect change. In a network-wide initiative, CNN is helping to empower the individual who has asked or thought, What can I do?
- International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC)
- International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC). The IFRC is the world's largest humanitarian organization with 186 member National Societies.
- Church World Service Home Page
- Church World Service is a cooperative humanitarian ministry of 35 Protestant, Orthodox, and Anglican denominations, providing sustainable self-help and development, disaster relief, and refugee assistance in more than 80 countries.
- UMCOR - Send Relief Supplies
- UMCOR is part of the General Board of Global Ministries. Go here to learn how you can send relief supplies, volunteer, or help relief efforts around the world ~ and at home.
- America's Second Harvest
- The America's Second Harvest Network supports approximately 63,000 local charitable agencies operating more than 70,000 programs including food pantries, soup kitchens, emergency shelters, after-school programs, Kids Cafes, Community Kitchens and BackPack Programs.
- Trees for Life
- Our work has a very long-term focus. We do not just feed hungry people or even just empower individuals to become more self-sufficient. We work toward shifting the entire paradigm so that people in the future will have more opportunities to lift themselves out of poverty.
- International Medical Corps
- IMC's Mission: From Relief to Self-Reliance
- Oxfam International - OI English Homepage
- Oxfam International seeks increased worldwide public understanding that economic and social justice are crucial to sustainable development. We strive to be a global campaigning force promoting the awareness and motivation that comes with global citizenship while seeking to shift public opinion in order to make equity the same priority as economic growth.
- WFP | United Nations World Food Programme - the UN food aid agency
- In purely quantitative terms, there is enough food available to feed the entire global population of 6.4 billion people. And yet, one in nearly seven people are going hungry. One in three children are underweight. Why does hunger exist?
- Take Ten
- This is a really great website that lists a wide variety of organizations where you can make a difference in someone's life, often in ten minutes or less.
The smallest things can make a difference
If the stores have also been destroyed, there is no place to buy food or water, a needle & thread, soap, a broom, or diapers. Many times, money won't help. If someone is exhausted, they don't want a check, they want a pillow. The daily supplies we take for granted can make all the difference in someone's life when absolutely everything is gone. Go to the United Methodist Committee on Relief to find out how you can help!
Haiti
Artwork and photographs about and by Haitians. All of these ~ and more ~ are available at Art.com. Whatever you purchase through this lens, you can help support Hope for Haiti.
Haiti Steff Green Buy From Art.com
Haiti Steff Green Buy From Art.com
New on Disaster Relief and Charities from Google
- Charities Unprepared for Major Disaster, GAO Says
- By Philip Rucker The American Red Cross and other disaster relief charities are unprepared to meet projected mass casualty needs during a natural ...
- DFID Minister says UN humanitarian system must get smarter
- "We also need to work harder to make sure the funds given to the UN by governments, charities and indeed the public for disaster relief appeals are released ...
- Red Cross Asks Congress For Millions in Storm Aid
- Under its congressional charter, the Red Cross is required to respond to natural disasters, but it is independent from government and operates largely on ...
- Congress Vows $100 Million to Red Cross After It Asks for Aid
- By Philip Rucker Congress will give the American Red Cross $100 million in emergency funding to replenish its disaster relief reserves, which were depleted ...
Sometimes, the answers are in a book
I have a collection of books that's gathered slowly over the years. It's not as big of a collection as my fiction or self-help libraries, but it is quietly persistent as I dust and arrange my books. I see the titles, I remember the words of change and inspiration inside. My heart is nudged again to care about strangers.
Del.icio.us bookmarks
Find other charities through Del.icio.us
Keep researching, you are sure to find ways to help others in need. It's so easy to think "I have nothing to give." I feel that way! But... here I sit with my iced tea, my ice, clean apartment, comfortable furniture, soft bed and pillow, more than one set of clothing.... I have. I can give. What can you give?
- Charity Navigator - America's Largest Charity Evaluator | Home
- American Institute of Philanthropy - Charity Watchdog Helping Donors Make Informed Giving Decisions
- GuideStar nonprofit reports and Forms 990 for donors, grantmakers and businesses
- US National BBB.org: For Charities and Donors
- United Nations World Food Programme activity
New YouTube vids
I have so much to give!
It's true, at the moment I have little money to spare. But I have stuff, and I can buy a few cans of tuna or beans or corn or peanut butter to give to my local food bank. And I can buy 3 yards of cotton fabric, needles, thread, buttons, and a pair of scissors (that's my sewing kit in the picture).One year at work, I organized a food day where my co-workers brought in, not baked goods for our consumption that day, but canned goods for us to take to our local food bank. We collected three boxes of food, and we saw that we can make a difference.
Making a difference to even one person, one family, is so important. Giving something is better than giving nothing. It is more than they had before, and you found you had more to give than you had believed.
Let's give, let's help, let's ease suffering. We can do it. If we really look, we'll see that we do, after all, have much to give.
Remember, 100% of my earnings on this lens go to Hope for Haiti. Please support this effort by browsing the Amazon.com books, above, or the artwork, below. 100% of my earnings on this lens go to Hope for Haiti ~ all of it, every penny. Thank you for your support.
Over 300,000 prints & posters to choose from at Art.com
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I'd love your feedback
I would love your feedback not only on this lens, but also on how you give back to your community, or help others in need.
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SewWithSarah
Excellent lens!! I'd never heard about the sewing "kits", school "kits", etc -- we belong to a Baptist church, which of course supports missionaries around the world, but I really like the ideas you have here. I'll be checking our local United Methodist church to see if they have something similar. Thanks for passing the information along. Posted September 07, 2008 |
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icjackson
This lens is inspirational. Posted August 15, 2008 |
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carpediem
Great squidoo! I have a blog that is focused on ways that a person can help: Take Ten ... feel free to submit an idea of your own, in addition to your squidoo url (of course), and I will feature it in one of the posts! Posted June 29, 2008 |
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Tiddledeewinks
Good job! You might want to see my charity lens where profits go for cancer funds at www.squidoo.com/SaintJudes Posted June 29, 2008 |
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kab
You may want to check out freerice.com. For every vocabulary question you get right, they donate 20 grains of rice. Teacher could use this as it allows you to choose vocab level, and if you get a question wrong, it comes around again a few later. I read about it in USA Today. Posted May 10, 2008 |
