Kindness is Always Win-Win

Not too long ago, after a few days off, I arrived to my desk to find a large ziploc bag full of knitted infant hats that one of my patients had dropped off for me to take to Haiti the next time I went.  Her knitting group had made them.  So of course, in packing last week,  I squeezed the bag into my luggage among all the banana plants, et.al.

I delivered the goods last week to a hospital chock full of newborn babies with no hats.  I called Diane yesterday to thank her and tell her the hats were delivered.  I emailed her a few pics (seen here). Here was her response...

"Dr. Edmondson,
Thank you so much for sending the beautiful pictures. I am so excited to be able to show my knitting students the babies that will wear our hats.  If there is anything else that the hospitals could use please let me know.  I started teaching this bunch of gals last October thinking I would take the Summer off and we are having such a good time knitting and have grown to be such good friends that they begged me to continue all Summer too.  It will make everyone's day to see where we can help someone else with our new hobby.  Thank you again.
Diane


Kindness is always win-win. Always.

Not an Amoeba Anymore

I did an interview with a local newspaper yesterday and the reporter asked me about what I thought the most significant accomplishment of our first year was.  I had to think about it for a minute. Thoughtful questions demand no less than thoughtful answers.

Lots of things raced through my head:  Formation. Incorporation. Bylaws. 501(c)3. Website. Launch. Raised funds. Feeding. Cholera hospital support. Latrines. Water filters. Container shipments. All good. All significant.

I have to say, though, and the answer I gave the reporter was that the most significant accomplishment of our first year was the beautiful network of people and organizations that God has brought together (and continues to do so).  It has been amazing to witness the complexification of this once-unicellular embryo called Starfysh.  A beautiful and amazing ontogenic development of a fetus. The development of specialized parts that make us better than the amoeba we started out as.

Hooray! I'm not an amoeba anymore!  In fact, I am not I anymore. I have become us.  And that's better. God has created us for community.  Even in going about doing good, we is better than me.

Another partnership we are establishing is with a micro-loan bank called Fonkoze.  I visited with the local branch director while in Haiti last week, and we will be collaborating in offering small loans to would-be business owners.  Micro-finance is widely-regarded as the most important economic development model for transforming economies in the Third World.

In the picture, the woman on my right is the Fonkoze director.  I'm pretty sure the guy on my left was just there to make sure my deposit slip was made out correctly.

Restavek

I attended a Rotary meeting in Lowell, MI yesterday, as a guest of my good friend and colleague, Dr. Jim Lang.  I was seated next to Miss Michigan Katie LaRoche with whom, over meatball stroganoff, I had a very interesting discussion about her platform of human trafficking.  She was there as the guest speaker for the hour, giving an articulate and passionate talk about the fact that trafficking is not something that is just a problem in other parts of the world, but that it's also a problem right here in the USA.

Trafficking is a problem in Haiti, too. Parents, desperate to offer their young children anything but the life they know, are willing to give their children to evil people when they're told that they their kids will be able to get an education and will have a better life. Neither is true.  Nearly always these children, "restaveks" they are called in Haiti, are sold as a commodity, to be used as child slaves... and sometimes as prostitutes. Google "restavek" or watch this 7 minute YouTube "Restaveks: Child Slaves of Haiti" for an idea of what I'm talking about. It's worth the 7 minutes.

So Encouraged

I visited this well last October (top picture) to learn that it was broken, and people in the village were walking 4-5 miles round trip to fetch water from a spring down in a ravine (which means they had to walk UP the ravine with their full 5-gallon buckets of water).  Since that time the village assembled a water/well committee who, with the help of a facilitator, mapped out a plan not only to get the well fixed, but to address the importance of clean water in a more holistic way... i.e. strongly encouraging each home have a good latrine, the absolute importance of drawing water into clean buckets, etc.  They built a nice enclosure and hired a well guard.

People often ask if I am seeing signs of improvement in Haiti.  And I honestly can say yes, and this example of community ownership and responsibility is one of those signs.  I am so encouraged by stories like this, and get excited that we can be a part of this transformation process.

Post #200

Another thing on my to-do list in Haiti last week was to visit with the families in whose homes we placed biosand water filters last October.

I wanted to know a couple things...
1) were they functioning well and without problems?  Yes, in every case.
2)were they being used religiously to purify the family's water? Yes, in every case.
3) Had there been any cases of diarrheal illness in the household? No, in every case.

The 5 people in the bottom pic all have a filter in their home.  I was touched by the thankfulness and joy they expressed when I asked them how they liked their filters.

OK, I'm sold.  We will work hard to place one of these units in every household of at least one village this year.  The way I figure it, $115 to keep a family healthy for 10 years is a pretty good deal.

The analytics on blogger tells me this is my 200th post since the earthquake.  Wow.

A Good Deal All Around

 We took the first baby step this past week in our vision to plant trees and banana plants on the sun-parched island of La Gonave. We delivered 62 banana plants (I told you baby steps) to the island where they will be grown in gallon pots to one-to-two foot-high plants before they are distributed to families to plant in their yards.

The man with the box is Jean Tinne who we have hired to care for the plants.  He also oversees our guest house security. His eyes really lit up when we lifted this box of young plants out of the boat.

Check out the soil in the third picture.  These bananas are just a few months old.  The last pic shows what the bananas will look like after just 18 months. What's more, each plant will produce sucker offshoots at the base of the plant that can be split and planted, and the process of growing, producing fruit, and reproducing is repeated.





Sue and I decided that all the money we take in at our Hostas For Haiti sale (July 2nd, 9AM - 12Noon) will go to buy bananas plants  Every $3 in proceeds of our sale will provide a banana plant to a peasant family in Haiti.  Plus, you get a great hosta for your yard.

A good deal all around.

Shameless Promoter

Got back early this afternoon from Haiti. Much accomplished. They had steaks on the grill waiting for me. We drank Dad's Root Beer (Jon's idea), Sue got me a great "Plays in the Dirt" t-shirt (I already have the hat), and Katie got me this great Survivor hat.  "Outwit. Outplay. Outlast." I have it on as I type.  (I would so win that game).

Having just returned from Haiti, and with several awareness events coming up, I really have alot to blog about and lots of cool pictures to share. I'll keep this one short, as it's getting late and I'm pretty travel-weary.

I really hope you will put these events on your calendar and help me promote them. They're fun things really meant to bring exposure to Starfysh and what we're trying to do for the people of La Gonave.

Saturday, July 2nd  9 AM - 12 Noon  Hostas for Haiti. Come on over to my house and take some of my gazillions of Hostas off my hands. All profits go to help our work in Haiti.

Friday, August 12th   First Annual Starfysh Golf Scramble  12:30 Shotgun Start  Venue: The Golf Club at Thornapple Pointe, Grand Rapids  Cost $110 per person which includes a great awards banquet at 6PM there at the course.  Lots of fun, contests, prizes.  Get up a foursome and join us!  Email me if you're interested  steve@starfysh.org  We'll have a registration brochure on the site www.starfysh.org later this week.

Saturday, August 27th  Grand Rapids 5K Mud Run.  Join Team Starfysh as we raise awareness of our efforts to transform an island.  Gather up some friends and sign up for the craziness ( www.grandrapidsmudrun.com ).  Once you register, let us know how many of your friends are going, and all your names, so we get enough t-shirts. This event will fill up, so register early!

Such a shameless promoter, I am.

Focus

I love little kids who wear glasses.  I don't know why, necessarily, but kids in glasses just have this endearing look. I met this young school boy up in the mountain village of Fontina a few days ago. And of course, I had to get his picture.  His glasses were huge on him and the missing right earpiece was replaced by a stick.  But they worked for him. They help his eyes focus.

"Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent." Philippians 4:8 NLB

Hostas for Haiti

Getting ready for "Hostas for Haiti" on Saturday, July 2nd.

I'll be in Haiti again this week, with a long to-do list.  A couple months ago I spent a week with the folks developing water systems in Haiti. This time I'll travel with yet another development worker to more rural villages on La Gonave. Learning, learning, learning.  I'll meet with the principal of the school where we had intended to feed kids this past year (had our supplies not been held up in customs for seven months). I'll be at the hospital, meet with Anse-a-Galet's village mayor, and connect with the director of a local micro-loan bank.  I'll deliver broods of chickens to several families, inspect some of the water filtration systems we've placed during previous trips down, deliver the first installment of banana plants, and look at some of the household latrines we are funding the construction of.

Stacy Oldenberg will be going with me.  He will be leading the team of teachers going down to the island in October and he is paving the way for that.  Very exciting stuff.  More about that later.

I am resolved to solve the communication piece.  Communicating to you directly from these rural villages will be a big step for me.  I WILL FIGURE THIS OUT.  As of today, I am on Twitter (Lord help us all) and will put it to the test in Haiti this week.  I'll also try to blog from down there.

Upcoming Starfysh fundraising/awareness events.  Mark your calendars!...

Saturday, July 2nd 9AM-Noon - Hostas for Haiti.  Buy hostas right out of my yard (believe me, I've got plenty). All hosta sale proceeds go to help us do very cool things in Haiti.

Friday, August 12th - 1st Annual Starfysh Golf Scramble and Banquet  Thorneapple Pointe Golf Course.  Tee Off Shotgun Start 12:30, Awards Banquet 6PM.  Great Prizes. Great Fun.  Put together a foursome and join us!

Saturday, August 27th - Grand Rapids Mud Run. A 5-K run (walk, crawl).  Join me and Team Starfysh as we have fun and raise awareness for Starfysh and the needs in Haiti.

More from Haiti,
Steve

Mallet Anesthesia

The anesthesia machine at our mission hospital has bitten the dust and we need to replace it. Without it, all we have is spinal block anesthesia, which suffices for below-the-belt surgeries (C-Sections, hernias, and lower extremity surgeries, and the like) but we need general anesthesia for pretty much everything else. International Aid has a refurbished unit for us (pictured here) for $3,000. The other option would be to get a $20 mallet, which patients do not care for. Most mallet anesthesia patients wake up with zinger headaches.

Any donations, of course, are tax-deductible. You can send your gift in the mail or give electronically via PayPal. Make checks payable to Starfysh. I'll keep you posted on progress of this little effort.

Blessings,

Steve

Very A-peel-ing

I am hoping for a good turnout at my second Hosta Rescue (July 2). I did it on a whim a couple of years ago as sort of this cornball thing to do, and don't you know, we had people prowling around our yard most of the day and we took in big bucks. So hey, I wasn't born yesterday. And Lord knows I do have the hostas.

I am weird with my hobby of growing hostas, I know that. But it's fun. It gives me pleasure. Plus, I know that every hosta I split and plant lessens my carbon footprint just a bit. I suppose I'll feel that way too when we get going planting mango trees and avocado trees and banana plants all over the island of La Gonave, Haiti.

We just ordered our first banana plants. Our vision for La Gonave is to plant a quarter million of them this decade. They cost us just 3 bucks each to purchase and deliver. Very a-peel-ing.

Blessings,

Steve

2011 Great American Hosta Rescue

The wait is over...

2011 Great American Hosta Rescue

Saturday, July 2

9 AM - Noon

3725 Oak Creek Ct. SE

Grand Rapids, Michigan

All proceeds go to benefit Starfysh's relief and development efforts in Haiti.

Repeat after me... "I need hostas. I need hostas." Very good.

The Waffle Dog Days of Summer

Made it out to Brian and Jen's Waffle Dogs for Haiti event last weekend. I'm always game for experiencing new food group combinations and this one didn't let me down. They were breakfast sausages surrounded by deep-fried waffle batter... on a stick. Dip those bad boys in syrup and you'll never waffle again about waffle dogs. Brian tells me this is a common food of the Philipines. Whether it was hunger or curiosity that brought them in, a continuous flow of neighbors stopped by to chat and eat and hear a bit about what's going on in Haiti. Nearly $1600 was donated to our work.

I also enjoyed hearing about the gigantic grease fire they had in their driveway the night before when they were going through a trial run. I suppose the grease tattoo permanently etched into the concrete will always be a nostalgic reminder of those waffle dog days of Summer.

Ah, the memories.

Of Romans and Woodpeckers

We're having a good bird year around our house this year. Lots of variety. Lots of numbers. Lots of color. Today I had the rare opportunity to see a pileated woodpecker fairly close up. Seeing him from the window of our house I figured it might be possible to sneak up on him. Keeping a big tree between me and him I was able to get within about fifteen feet from him as he worked over a soft log nestled among the trilliums down near the creek. It is times like this that I wish I had a big telephoto lens.

Pileateds are the largest of the woodpeckers, growing to about 18 inches tall. Woody Woodpecker was a pileated. A pileus was one of those felt skull caps worn by the early Romans. Another fun fact you can use to astound your friends.

Glad I can be of help.

Steve

Cold Protest

My garden frog is not happy. April 28th and the forecast for tonight is low 30's with possibility of snow flurries.

Even the trout lilies have closed their petals in protest.

Great Expectations

Waiting is hard. From red lights to pregnancies most of us are let's-get-on-with-it type creatures. And when it comes to impatience... I am the chiefest of sinners.

I strained hard today to see if they were coming up. But hard as I looked, I could find no signs of emergence just yet... no shoots, no cracks in last year's mulch. Ironic, don't you think, that my Great Expectations hostas are among the latest of my hostas to emerge? I know they're in there, those shoots of cells... multiplying and arranging just so. But I want to see. It would be so fun to see.

But, hard as it is, waiting is good. If hope is the "expectation of something good" then I have lots of that. Something really really good is just around the corner, just out of sight.

*Note: you can zoom in on the picture by clicking on it. Zoom away... all you'll see is mulch.

Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. Heb. 11:1

Li Leve Vivan!

Rising up from beautiful village churches all around La Gonave: "Li leve vivan!" He has risen!

He has risen indeed.

Toys

Kites are a common site in Haiti, making and flying them a favorite child's pasttime. Check out this one... it's about as high as the moon.

If you want to see creativity and ingenuity, watch a Haitian child create toys out of pretty much nothing (this kite fashioned from a plastic garbage bag). "Toys of Haiti" would be an interesting picture book (probably a good one for American kids to look at). Think I'll start taking pictures.

Helleborus: First Flowers of Michigan Spring

This patch of Hellebores (a.k.a. Lenten Roses) are growing up in our woods. They're among the first bloomers around our place and they hold their blooms all season long. The flowers, instead of wilting and falling apart, dry and pale out, and remain in the garden as dried flowers. They self seed easily and, unlike my hosta shoots, the deer and rabbits leave them alone.

They are not stocked at too many nurseries and if you do find them, they're fairly expensive, usually more than $12-15 per pot.

Now, if I could just fill my woods with them...

Cholera Hospital / Clinic

I stopped by this little boy's cot at the cholera field hospital last week. His little body was fighting to survive this quick and terrible illness. I hope he'll survive. I think he will... most do if they can get to a hospital in time for IV fluids to get started.

You don't hear much about Haiti's cholera problem any more, what with all the other news vieing for the world's attention. It is still a big issue down here. Word has it that 1,000 people are contracting cholera every day here. As of last week, just our little field hospital on La Gonave has seen 406 cholera cases. 12 have died here. And this is the dry season. The rainy season is arriving real soon and the worry is that this could accelerate the number of cases we are seeing.

Starfysh is covering the costs of staffing this clinic. We also have two large pallets of IV fluids and tubing kits currently enroute down.

. . . While the Snow is Still on the Roses

Michigan woke up this morning to two inches of snow. (A week ago we had a high of 84 degrees). The snow really jazzes up my Lenten Roses, don't you think?

I walk through the garden alone while the dew, er... snow... is still on the roses...

Donkey Shy

Ran into alot of nice folks last week. This man and his burro stopped for a picture. It's obvious his burro was pretty camera shy.

Today being Palm Sunday, our message in church this morning was based on the Scriptural account of Jesus's entry into Jerusalem while riding on a donkey. When we read the passage it made me think of what Mother Theresa said one time. In responding to someone praising her for her life's work she deflected, "Thank you, but do you think that, when Jesus rode the donkey into Jerusalem that Palm Sunday, that the donkey thought it was all about him?"

My back is kinda sore today. Hope I carried Jesus well this week.

You Gave Me Something to Drink

I have enjoyed moving about the island of La Gonave for the past few days, visiting several of her beautiful villages that I've not been to in the past. These kids lived in a little home near the village well.

Water (clean and close) continues to be the single most important and urgent need in Haiti, particularly on the island of La Gonave. Ironic, don't you think, that an island surrounded by more water than you can imagine struggles so with the availability of fresh, not salty water. The problem is that salt-removing reverse osmosis and other desalination systems are very costly to maintain. Village wells, chlorination programs, and various types of water filtration systems are what are required for the kind of water that won't make people sick.

"I was thirsty, and you gave me something to drink." Matthew 25:35a

First Water

Still on Haiti's mainland. I attended a three hour long (yikes!) village development meeting this afternoon, listening to the people that live there (71 households) work out the details of maintaining the well that would go into operation in their village (i.e., hours it would be open, what wage to pay the well guard, how much to charge for water, etc.). They ended up agreeing that they would collect 15 Gourdes per month per household (approx. 38 cents American) that they would use to save for well maintenance and repair costs down the road. Completely self-sufficient and sustainable. The picture here shows the first water out of the well.

Out to La Gonave tomorrow.

Pumps, Piping, Cisterns

Spent the morning with a development worker (a water systems engineer) seeing how they are bringing water to the community they're working in. I learned alot about pumps and cisterns and energy sources and piping issues. Truly impressive, amazing work.

This picture was taken about an hour ago... villagers washing clothes and bathing at a spring. Sadly the water is contaminated (due primarily to human factors. (I think clicking on the picture will let you zoom in a bit).

Why Pirates Say "Arrgh"

Spent the entire day on Haiti's mainland today, meeting with people a lot smarter than me when it comes to doing development work here. Visited lots of village wells. Will be going to a village well management committee meeting tomorrow. All Haitian.

During our travels today we ran across this little rum distillery. Had to jump out of the truck and check it out. Any of you rum drinkers out there should probably drink something else. This was truly nasty. The rum of pirates.

Ohhh, so that's why pirates say Arrgh!

Brown Hair

Perusing my pics, I ran across this 18 year old photo taken during the early years of my travels to Haiti. This little boy's family lived down near the airstrip. In case you're wondering, this is Rickets, caused from lack of vitamin D. Very sad.

Check the brown hair I used to have!

Jumping on a plane in less than two hours. I'll blog if I can, but it is very hard from where I go. We'll see.

Pray for me. I'm going alone this time. Pray for safefy and productivity.

Lots of Ibuprofen

It's going to be a rocky start to your morning commute. Leave early... traffic is moving well below posted speeds. And remember... yield the right of way to the women and children hauling water all along the way. And if you've got room for a weary traveler, stop and let them hop in. "Do unto others..." as Someone has said.

As you can see, getting around on La Gonave is difficult and slow. And in order to deliver people and supplies, we are looking for vehicles that can handle roads like what you see here.

And ibuprofen... we'll need lots of ibuprofen.

Heading Down

Heading down to Haiti this Sunday. I'll be meeting with the folks who will be drilling village wells on the island of La Gonave. I'll also be readying our small guesthouse for our first work team scheduled for late May / early June.

I'd love you to come visit me on La Gonave sometime.

Container Items Released

I'd like to introduce you to my granddaugher, Sophie. She is the apple of Grandpa's eye. I love Sophie so much.

I just received news that several of our container shipments have finally been released from Haitian customs! (The one with all our feeding program supplies has been there since last August). I must be honest... it has been aggravating to me to see good will held hostage by inefficiencies along the way. And, while I confess it is aggravating at times, I am at strange peace about it, knowing that these "inefficiencies" are but symptoms of much larger, structural illness. I've been losing no sleep over the stuff on the dock.

We have acquired a small guesthouse on the island that will serve as a great project staging grounds here in the early going. As things grow over time, we might need more, but this is perfect for now. We are outfitting it (generator/electricity, water, furniture, etc.) now and it will be ready for our first official work team slated to come in late May. I am excited.

I am learning that this adventure of moving with God is not just the taking of one step of faith and then your're good to go after that, but that seemingly every step that follows is also an act of faith. It's all good, mind you... no complaining. It's just scary sometimes.

I need your help, those of you reading this, and I'm just throwing this out there... in faith, knowing that God works through those who love and follow him: We need island transportation.

Until now we've been borrowing and renting vehicles to get us around and we can't continue to do that much longer. We have figured out how we're getting the vehicles down there. Now we need to just find them.

We need...

Two - Heavy Duty (e.g., 3/4 ton) Diesel trucks.

Two - Hauling Capacity 4-Wheel ATV's

Two - 125cc Motorcycles (we can purchase these right there in Haiti for about $1200 each)

We could also really use some warehouse space here in Grand Rapids where we can stage the supplies enroute to the island. Maybe even one with a small office in it.

If any of you out there in blogland and facebookland has connections with folks who would like to donate to a cause that can bring radical, transforming change to a little island in Haiti... would you mind putting in a good word? You can use the www.starfysh.org site as a resource in talking to them.

Thanks folks. We are doing some very cool things for a very desperate people.

Blessings,

Steve