Then the Earthquake Hit

One of the goals of my most recent trip to Haiti was to show the school children how to jump rope. I think you can tell from their smiles that that they really appreciated my willingness to demonstrate my skills.

I returned from Haiti two weeks ago, laying more projects groundwork. Met with those who will be administrating our feeding program and have been seeking wisdom and counsel of those familiar with Haitian culture and who've had experience with various types of feeding programs. Please pray for this, as we want to get it right. Hungry kids who could care less, really, about logistics and accounting just want a good meal now and again. And yet, logistics and accounting and accountability structures and hiring workers and fuel sources and eating utensils and security... all this and more we must get right or the food won't land in their stomachs. (Get this... on average, every hour one Haitian child dies as a direct or indirect result of starvation).

Starfysh is still awaiting official "non-profit" designation by the IRS. Until then, and while we wait, we are holding off on any major fundraising efforts. (On one hand, it makes me nervous, because the first day of school in Haiti is just eleven weeks away, and we want so badly to give the kids a good meal. As we wait some donations are trickling in, which is nice. Thank you.) We did hear about our application from the IRS a couple of weeks ago. They contacted us with some very minor technical stuff, which we see as a good sign... i.e., that they apparently have no issues with the substantive stuff we submitted. Another topic for which I would appreciate your prayers.

I cannot tell you how many times people have asked me something like, "Are things improving in Haiti?" My response, many times, has been to quote Wes Stafford, president of Compassion, International, when he said,

"Haiti was home to one of the worst disasters of our time. Then the earthquake hit."

Pray for Haiti. Haiti's issues are so complex, so deep, and so entrenched. No government can fix her. Not the U.N. Not Bono. Not Jack Bauer. Money won't fix her. Not even Oprah can fix Haiti. Only God can fix Haiti.

So pray for Haiti.

Another Face of Malnutrition

There are 30,000 young children in Haiti who suffer from mental deficiencies all because their mothers were iodine deficient. This two-month-old baby faces such a problem.

Totally wrong, for it's totally preventable.

My Deepest Respect

Hanging out with my good friend Jonas before taking off from La Gonave this morning.

When I go to bed tonight I won't have a high power fan blowing 94 degree air into my face like I have for the past week. Touche, long-term missionaries for giving up comforts of home to serve in such difficult conditions. You have my deepest respect. Thank you.

And the evening and the morning were the sixth day.

I Did the Math

I happened upon this tiny orphanage during my journey today. It is less than 2 months old, made up entirely of boys and girls orphaned by Haiti's recent earthquake.

They have no sponsoring agency, just a loving woman caring for them and a local business owner who offered up a small building to house them. They were running out of food, so my sister and I decided to help. Long story short, we stocked their shelves with rice, beans, spaghetti, charcoal, cooking oil, and sugar (for sugar drink). We spent $324 for a month's worth of two meals a day for eleven kids. I did the math: 49 cents a meal.

Best $324 I've spent in a very long time.

Starfish

I took a picture of this starfish today. In the background you can see Anse-a-Galets, the village where we will be feeding a bunch of hungry kids soon.

I return home tomorrow, after a good week. Good connections made, details nailed down. Many stories to share.

By the way, the starfish was alive... so I threw him in to live another day.

Hunger Up Close

There are tons of facts and figures you can find on hunger and malnutrition. Facts like...

76% of Haiti's children under 5 years of age are underweight or suffer from wasting or stunted growth, and...

every 6 seconds a child somewhere in the world dies from a malnutrition-related disease, and...

2.4 million people in Haiti are "food insecure" (don't have enough access to food), and...

one out of every three babies born in Haiti are born underweight.

Holding this little boy this morning made me forget those numbers. For a few moments, it was just me and him.

School this Morning

These kindergarteners have met in an outside classroom since the earthquake. They were studying the human body when I was there this morning. This photo was taken less than two hours ago.

I visited many classrooms today, talking with them and answering some of their questions. In many of them I asked for a raise of hands of how many had eaten today. Average was 1-2 out of 30.

None of the children you see have eaten today.

72 cents would fill one of their little bellies with a well-balanced nutritious meal and drink.