is the balm

 Love to Haiti

If you’ve been avoiding reading the news about Haiti this post is for you.

While stories about Haiti can be depressing and overwhelming there is inspiration, hope and good news to be found amidst the plentitude of bleak statistics and heartbreaking details filling the media landscape about the current conditions in Haiti.

Far from intending to make light of the situation in Haiti, this post is intended to illuminate the capacity of the human spirit to shine in even the most difficult moments. The following two excerpts are from stories that attest to the strength of humanity and ingenuity as well as provide reminder that even when it appears that one may have nothing, it is still possible to create something wonderful.

These stories may surprise as they involve Haiti becoming more eco-friendly even in a time of crisis and not crying, but singing by remarkably, resilient Haitians. The excerpts are sourced from MSNBC, and The New York Times.

The Sun Shines in Haiti

With fuel sources low and dwindling, it has become increasingly difficult to cook food and provide electricity in especially important spaces like those providing medical aid to the wounded.

To cook food, families are starting to use donated solar ovens and additionally, water is being purified using solar power. As reported by MSNBC: “A solar-powered mobile water purification system, donated last year by the Haitian Project, was pulled from the rubble and put into service at a Red Cross aid station. Every day, the Mobile MaxPure rig is turning 30,000 gallons of contaminated city water into drinkable water.”

http://cosmiclog.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2010/01/19/2178696.aspx <http://cosmiclog.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2010/01/19/2178696.aspx>


Singing in the Dark
Photographer Damon Winter was in Haiti one of the first nights after the initial quake. While he wasn’t able to photographically capture the goings on in the dark, he could hear them. This is what he said:
“There was one thing that didn’t really make pictures. It was my first night here last night. We were staying at a hotel on the edge of a pretty heavily damaged neighborhood and at night, you could hear people singing.  People are out on the street at night. It’s really hard to photograph because there’s no electricity. It’s pitch black. But all night you could hear them singing prayers. It’s pretty amazing the ways that people are dealing with this tragedy. It says a lot about the Haitian character. They are an amazing people.”
http://lens.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/01/15/assignment-19/

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If you’re interested in helping with the situation in Haiti (or helping even more than you already have), you may want to check out www.lime-aid.tv <http://www.lime-aid.tv> . They are accepting donations of food (specific staples that are listed on their website) that they will be shipping to Haiti within the coming weeks. The food will then go to Haitian children foundations ANA Children’s Center and Brebis de Saint Michelle Orphanage.



xxNB