Love Haiti

This week, the world has joined together for the people of Haiti.  The long suffering this country has endured,  turned to tragedy this week when a 7.0 magnitude earthquake struck near the capital city of Port-au-Prince.  In a country with no building codes and a poorly developed infrastructure, the devastation has been beyond my own understanding.  People buried alive in buildings, no water or electricity.  For those injured, no basic medical care, and no anesthesia or pain medication or even aspirin.  I feel as though I can hear the wailing in the streets--moaning in pain, wailing in grief, crying out to God or man or anyone who will listen.

The world has listened and help has come.  But it has been difficult and slow and not enough.  The airport was severely damaged and the roads are damaged and blocked and there are few heavy machines to move the debris--and those that are there, are focused on trying to remove debris of fallen, occupied buildings, in hopes of finding survivors.  Help has come, but it is not enough for every man, woman, and child in Haiti.  More will die.  More will suffer.  And the poverty and disease that has plagued the people of Haiti forever will continue.

It is overwhelming what this tiny country needs. As if its needs were not enough before, this earthquake--God's handy work--made them unfathomable.  Needs so great that the world could not ignore Haiti any more. 

I have found that I long to help.  And, I long for news--small pieces of good news. News of doctors helping even one person.  News that a mother is reunited with her child.  News money, and supplies, and help is pouring in. I long for this news and I thank God.  Such devastation shows the human capacity for love.  The capacity for compassion and hope.  The capacity for faith. And, it reveals the fragility and resilience--all at once--of the human spirit.

But, why does it take unfathomable tragedy to open our eyes -- to love Haiti?  Haiti has needed the world to stand up and take action for decades.  I worry that, in a few days or weeks, the world--myself included--will forget Haiti.

We just can't.

But we are so comfortable and so far removed from Haiti.  It is as though we are looking down on it from mountaintops.  It is distant and tiny and beyond our reach. Haiti's circumstances are beyond our understanding.

But the truth is, we can't forget Haiti.  We need to sustain our love for her people and her culture.  Dr. Paul Farmer, the founder of Partners in Health, a non-profit organization that has worked extensively in Haiti, is a model of what should be done. His organization operates on the basis that the obligation to those who face such tragedy is both medical and moral--that we should treat the people of Haiti the way we would treat a member of our own family--or ourselves--by doing "whatever it takes" to make them whole.

I am inspired by their work and their mission.  I'm not a doctor, so I don't have the medical skills to help. I'm not a search and rescue trained disaster relief worker.  But, I am capable of humbly stepping up to try to be in some small way the hands and feet of Christ. I can be part of the team that stands beside Haiti and do whatever it takes.

In his blog post this week, Dr. Dan Diamond, who arrived in Haiti yesterday with Medical Teams Northwest, reminds me that the work of each person, in any capacity, is significant.  He describes what an honor it is to be one of the people going to Haiti to help on the ground there -- yet, he sees not his sacrifice, but the sacrifice and efforts of others who have made it possible for him to go:

"Going on a trip like this is similar to being an astronaut on the space shuttle. As the rocket is beginning to rumble and lift off of the launchpad they must be aware of the fact that they are the fortunate folks that have the honor of the ride. They know full well that they didn't build the rocket. It takes an army of people to make a relief effort like this even possible. Thank you to the folks at Medical Teams International for their never ending commitment to being there when they are needed. I am blessed by your work and pray that we will be a blessing to the people of Haiti."

And so, I pray now for the people of Haiti. And, I am thankful that the world has demonstrated its love for Haiti -- to relieve the suffering of so many.  And I pray that we all--individually and as nations--will find the capacity to sustain our love for Haiti whether we serve as "astronaut" or one of the "army of people" who prepares the way for the astronaut.  I pray that we will do whatever it takes for as long as it takes.



If you are interested in reading the inspiring story of Paul Farmer's work in Haiti, please read Mountains Beyond Mountains by Tracy Kidder.  It not only tells of Farmer's work, but illustrates the model for effective and efficient efforts to truly create sustainable and meaningful change.   Farmer's organization, Partners in Health, based in Boston, can be found at  pih.org


If you are interested in following Dr. Dan Diamond's blog and work in Haiti, please follow this link to his blog at:
 http://www.powerdyme.com/dan-diamond-powerdyme-blog.html