• Prior to January 12, he had never heard of God’s Littlest Angels.
• After January 12, he contacted the Red Cross and did some investigating small organizations in Haiti to get involved with.
• Since then, he’s been very active in his support of GLA.  He has been down to GLA to help, has been actively involved in raising funds and getting supplies and has personally driven a truck load of supplies from Texas to our office in Colorado.

And now he’s doing something that I shudder to even think about.   He’s going to ride his bike all the way up Pikes Peak.

I told Robert that the last time I was on Pikes Peak, I could hardly walk 20 ft without gasping for air and he’s going to ride his bike up it?   Yep, and why is he doing it?

To Raise Money to Help the Orphans in Haiti.

In particular, to raise money so that GLA can help the kids in Haiti.

I’ve asked Robert to share a bit of his story and what he’s planning so that the readers of the blog can help as well.    Here’s what he sent me:

But there’s more on how you can help.    Robert has obtained some matching fund donations and so it would be awesome if we could get an “upswing” in donations that are trackable to Robert’s effort and Robert’s 19 mile up hill bike ride.

I’ve created a “widget” that I’ve put directly on this post so that if you click on it to donate, it does a couple of things:

• It takes you to GLA’s Paypal site where you can donate securely to GLA and we can track that it’s tied to Robert’s bike ride.
• It allows us to track how many people have donated to GLA on behalf of Robert’s effort.

Here’s what I’d like you to do:

1. Make a donation to GLA on behalf of Robert’s effort either by using the “widget” on this page or by sending a check to Robert made out to GLA.
2. E-mail 10, 20, 50 of your closest friends (they don’t have to be your closest ones) and ask them to help as well.
3. Click on that “share on facebook button” up at the top and share it with all of your facebook friends.

I would love it if Robert could, with every agonizing pedal up Pikes Peak realize that there are countless people helping out the kids in Haiti because of what he’s doing.

Thanks in advance for helping him support the kids in Haiti.

Tom Vanderwell

Technorati Tags: Haiti,Pikes Peak,Bike Ride,Orphans,God’s Littlest Angels,Fundraiser




]]> http://godslittlestangelsinhaiti.org/2010/07/23/bike-all-the-way-up-pikes-peak/feed/ 0 http://godslittlestangelsinhaiti.org/2010/07/22/i-wanted-adoption-series-part-4/ http://godslittlestangelsinhaiti.org/2010/07/22/i-wanted-adoption-series-part-4/#comments Thu, 22 Jul 2010 13:00:00 +0000 Tom Vanderwell http://godslittlestangelsinhaiti.org/2010/07/22/i-wanted-adoption-series-part-4/


Tom here – I’m not going to post this one in it’s entirety, but instead recommend that you click through and read it at Troy and Tara’s blog.   It’s worth the time……

Adoption Guest Blogger Kristen Howerton

Kristen and Mark are parents to four beautiful children. Two of the four kids joined their family through adoption. They most recently adopted from Haiti and that is how we met and became friends. Kristen wrote this post about what she wished she could have had time to say on a June appearance on “The View”.  To read the post and comments at her site you can go here. Kristen has graciously granted me permission to post it in its entirety here.  



Well, folks, my fifteen minutes onThe View is up. Despite a slightly mortifying gaffe, I was glad to share a bit of our adoption story on a national media outlet.  Leading up to the show, my mind was racing with points I wanted to make about adoption.  It’s something I’m so passionate about, and it’s hard not to replay what I wish I would have said.  Here’s a bit of it . . . 

 (Go back up and click on the title)



]]> http://godslittlestangelsinhaiti.org/2010/07/22/i-wanted-adoption-series-part-4/feed/ 0 http://godslittlestangelsinhaiti.org/2010/07/20/love-is-not-colorblind-adoption-series-part-3/ http://godslittlestangelsinhaiti.org/2010/07/20/love-is-not-colorblind-adoption-series-part-3/#comments Tue, 20 Jul 2010 20:00:00 +0000 Tom Vanderwell http://godslittlestangelsinhaiti.org/2010/07/20/love-is-not-colorblind-adoption-series-part-3/


Tom here…..   Those of you who are friends of mine on Facebook might remember how, the weekend of July 8-10, I took my two Haitian kids to Chicago while their Mom (aka my better half – in every sense of the word) went down to GLA with a group from our church.   We spent a couple of action packed fun filled days at the Children’s Museum, a WhiteSox game, the mall and more.   Annie says in her post below that one trip to WalMart will show you that the world is not colorblind.   I experienced that, I should say my kids and I did, as even in the crowds at the WhiteSox game, we stood out because I’m a bit of a different color than they are.

I took the liberty (with permission from Tara) to copy the entire post here because I think it’s good for all of us to think about…….

A Vision Test, by Amie Sexton


Tim and Amie live and minister among families living in low-income/government housing. They have adopted five African-American, Haitian or bi-racial children. Their lives have inspired us and we hope you’ll check out their ministry here and consider supporting their work in some way. Today Amie shares her thoughts on seeing your child’s color. We’ve used their photos without their express written or verbal permission. :)
Love is colorblind.
Do I hear a resounding “AMEN!”??? You might regret it. There are two things you should know before jumping on this bandwagon.
1.) 99.9% of the time this statement is made by white people. If you hear an African American use this comment (without an excessive sarcastic drawl and much rolling of their eyes) you are the exception to the rule.
2.) It is one of the most misguided statements commonly made by white people, many of them adoptive parents.
Let me quickly point out that I have spoken these words myself in times past. So has Tara. (Yes, Mrs. Livesay- I’m dragging you under the bus with me. =)) It is based on this personal experience and the outgrowth of it that I am willing to share my thoughts with you now. Let’s delve into the phrase more deeply.
Is love colorblind? I believe what we have here is a classic picture of good motivation followed by crappy methodology. Good intention meets bad interpretation. The notion behind colorblindness is just as simple as you might expect: to be blind to color. But one trip to Wal-Mart with your Haitian, Ethiopian, Ugandan, African American child yields extreme evidence through bulging eyes and double-takes that your and your child’s color difference is easily identifiable.
It is only convenient for a majority race member to flippantly (no matter how well-meaning) discount color in this way. White people don’t have to think about being white…it is what it is. Unless they happen into a room, party, neighborhood, or country in which they are the minority. The average white American will never walk into a department store and wonder “will I be followed around and accused of shoplifting today?” You assume this will not happen to you. No, no, wait. It’s worse than that. You don’t have to assume it won’t happen. You don’t have to even waste half a second considering it. It never has to enter your consciousness.
Hispanics and African Americans do not share this luxury of NOT considering it. I have witnessed blatant and abusive racism first hand. And at the Goodwill for crying out loud! I get that stealing is stealing but seriously? Is it really worth it to let your stereotype destroy another human being over a $3 pair of used jeans? Anyway. Without arguing through 200 years of history, the simple reality is that whiteness has natural benefits. Benefits that no one had to march for, beg for, or be lynched for. The freedom not to think about race if we don’t want to being numero uno on the list of benefits.
Furthermore, to say that love does not “see color” is as ridiculous as saying that because I love dogs they are all exactly the same to me. Suppose you stood before me with a Great Dane and a Chihuahua and I insisted that there is no difference between them –that I am blind to their genetic traits. Any one of you would argue my insanity in a court of law because clearly one of these dogs is a 210 lb. mini-horse and the other could be mistaken for a rat. My love for dogs does not change my ability to recognize their distinct attributes. My love may allow me to impart affection to both critters equally regardless of their size but it will not cause me to ignore what is obvious. And taking it even further –if I insist these two creatures are practically the same in every way and therefore I cram my Great Dane into a crate made for a toy breed I’m no longer just ignoring the difference but overlooking their specific needs and inadvertently causing damage.
Have you seen Avatar? The Na’vi tribe greets each other with the phrase “I see you.” Simple but heavily loaded with meaning. New Age nuances aside, it is explained in the movie as deeply significant and referring to the very essence of the person. I see who you are and all there is to know and love about you. We could take a lesson from the overgrown blue people.
When your adopted minority child looks in the mirror he/she sees black, brown, peach, yellow, tan, etc. skin looking back. For that child to hear us say that our love is “colorblind” can be far more hurtful than any of us would dream. What we mean is that our love for them transcends color and ethnicity. But what they often hear is “I don’t see part of you.” We so desperately want to affirm our children in the security of our unconditional love that we miss the point. What if Tara came to me tomorrow and said, “Amie, I’m going to overlook the fact that you are a red-headed freckle factory and continue loving you anyway”? Besides how completely ironic that would be given our shared features, it would also hurt me deeply because the very nature of such a statement implies that my traits are unbecoming and undesirable and something to be overlooked in order to find me acceptable. Our children want to be accepted because of who they are –inside and out- not in spite of it.

Love that overlooks is belittling. Love that acknowledges is accepting.
Bottom line: love is not colorblind. In fact, God (who is love) is not colorblind. And now the bigger questions are: How does God see color? Does the world see it the same way? Do we? And how do our, the world’s, and God’s views of race affect our adopted children?
Part 2 on the way…



]]> http://godslittlestangelsinhaiti.org/2010/07/20/love-is-not-colorblind-adoption-series-part-3/feed/ 1 http://godslittlestangelsinhaiti.org/2010/07/17/adoption-series-the-second-part-2/ http://godslittlestangelsinhaiti.org/2010/07/17/adoption-series-the-second-part-2/#comments Sun, 18 Jul 2010 03:09:49 +0000 Tom Vanderwell http://godslittlestangelsinhaiti.org/?p=2057 Tom here – I’m taking the liberty of posting this one from Tara in it’s entirety.    I think she speaks very eloquently about the need for adoptive parents to be very secure in their own position and not have “issues” with talking about their kids birth parents.    I also think she does a wonderful job of explaining why it’s important to remain involved with our children’s home country and to maintain the link that they feel……

Enjoy, or at least ponder it and be enriched……

 

Tomorrow and throughout the next few days we have a few more guest voices lined up to share thoughts on adoption. Tomorrow we’ll hear from adoptive parents of five asking the question, "Is love colorblind?" Next week we hope to hear from an adult adoptee and a first-mother/birth-mother.

Our intention is never to put anyone on the defensive.  We’re hoping to challenge ourselves and others to think about things from the perspectives of our children. While I often think my Haitian children might be "better off" (relative to a few things)  with Troy and I  — I also know there is a deep, deep bond to their heritage and their roots and if I walk around telling them how much better off they are I might be making it difficult for them to feel safe feeling things for their first family and their birth-country.

The new Toy Story movie (Toy Story 3) has very interesting story lines for kids that have been placed in orphanages and have abandonment issues.  We saw it last weekend.  Last night Isaac and Hope talked a bit about it and shared some of their thoughts.  It led to Isaac asking why his birth family kept some of their children but not him.  That is the first time he has asked us that. If I had spent the last 7+ years telling Isaac how blessed/lucky he is to have us would he feel safe to process these things out loud with us?  I am not so sure.

If we, as adoptive parents, are secure and work at not allowing ourselves to be threatened by our childrens first-families, our kids will feel safe being real with us and allowing true feelings to surface.  I pray my children can tell me anything without fear of making me feel jealous or insecure.   I also know that Isaac has recently hit an age where he is beginning to question new things.  He is not unhappy – the kid is maybe one of the happiest you’ll ever meet — but he does feel these things.  Hope is not yet questioning things.  It is possible that she may have these questions in her teens or even later. It is possible she is thinking about it and not willing to talk yet. Our goal is always to make it as safe as we can for them to process any of it with us – to say exactly what they’re thinking. I love adoption.  I love the ways it has stretched us as a family.  We’re praying for those of you considering it.

Some links:
Fall Conference  "Together for Adoption" in Austin, TX.
Documentary Schedule on PBS here at Rage Against the Minivan.
A post about the number of children adopted vs. those institutionalized and remaining in-country.
Brain Child Magazine ~ article dealing openly with adoptions that fall apart.
Russell Moore calls Christians to rescue orphans in an article titled Abba Changes Everything.
tara

Technorati Tags: Haiti,Orphans,Adoption,Livesays



]]> http://godslittlestangelsinhaiti.org/2010/07/17/adoption-series-the-second-part-2/feed/ 0 http://godslittlestangelsinhaiti.org/2010/07/14/update-on-humanitarian-parole-4/ http://godslittlestangelsinhaiti.org/2010/07/14/update-on-humanitarian-parole-4/#comments Wed, 14 Jul 2010 13:35:26 +0000 Tom Vanderwell http://godslittlestangelsinhaiti.org/?p=2048 I just got an e-mail from Kim at Bethany Christian Services telling me that JCICS is going to have a webinar tomorrow with an update on Humanitarian Parole.

If you want more information or want to register for it, please check out the JCICS Website and sign up.

Thanks!

Tom

Technorati Tags: Haiti,God’s Littlest Angels,Orphans,Humanitarian Parole



]]> http://godslittlestangelsinhaiti.org/2010/07/14/update-on-humanitarian-parole-4/feed/ 0 http://godslittlestangelsinhaiti.org/2010/07/13/adoption-series-thoughts-from-an-adoptive-mom/ http://godslittlestangelsinhaiti.org/2010/07/13/adoption-series-thoughts-from-an-adoptive-mom/#comments Tue, 13 Jul 2010 21:09:00 +0000 Tom Vanderwell http://godslittlestangelsinhaiti.org/2010/07/13/adoption-series-thoughts-from-an-adoptive-mom/ Tom here, and I have to say that I’ve never met Christine but through various connections, I’ve run across some of her writings in more than one place.   She’s the real deal and she gets it and she is a straight shooter.   No beating around the bush…..

I’ve put excerpts below, but click on the links to read more…….

I’d say enjoy, but it’s more like, “think deeply……”

Tom

Livesay [Haiti] Weblog: To Adopt or Not To Adopt


To Adopt or Not To Adopt
Reposted by request … (Originally published June 2009)
Guest Blogger – Christine Moers

To Adopt or Not to Adopt

I have a very serious problem. Looking at pictures of orphans causes me to price airline tickets and find ways to sell all of my earthly belongings to bring them into our home….. Yet, show me a child in desperate need of forever, and I have an overwhelming passion to dive in without thinking.

Anyone with me?

I’m now a mother or five. Our first two came to us through birth. The third is African American and entered our home via domestic adoption (after waiting in a private foster home for seven months, because there were no waiting couples open to a child of color). Our two newest additions are Haitian. They came to the United States just over three years ago…….

Will you allow me to lovingly share some thoughts with you on adoption? There are many who feel we should never, ever discourage anyone from adopting. I disagree……

There are waiting children, but these children have special needs throughout a lifetime. Every single adoption (even infant adoption) involves pain and loss. Adopted children grieve their birth families and histories, even if those involved abuse and neglect. So, I’m not saying, “Don’t adopt.” However, I ask you to converse with God and determine if you are really ready right now to parent one of these children. If not, what will it take for you to get to that point? How does God need to work you over?

…….First and foremost, the very best place for any child is with their first family, if it is safe and loving. I know, I know … it seems as though if a child has to skip a day without food and cannot ever afford to go to school … well, they should be somewhere else, right?

No. No.

In case you didn’t catch that, it was, “No.” However, always, always keep this truth in focus….

We should be supporting families first. Period.

Next, I ask you to consider a quote from Heather T. Forbes: “Adoption is trauma.” I realize I’m giving you all sorts of really difficult things to choke down, but really – adoption is trauma. Whether it was knowing a voice, heartbeat and rhythm of life for nine months that changes abruptly, or moving to a new country and a new language with new smells and sounds and tastes … adoption is trauma.

There are very few healthy babies out there waiting to enter homes. There was, but the need has shifted. There are a LOT of kids needing homes, but the job description looks more like this:

“Amazing child looking for family. Must love me forever. Have ability to be patient and kind, even when puberty hits and I scream, “You’re not my real mom!” Need not be jealous over the fact I miss my first family. In fact, you will need to talk about them regularly, knowing I’m thinking about them, even if they don’t come up in conversation. Must have determination to give me all I need, whether it is therapy, special parenting techniques, lifebooks, contact with my birth family or just holding me when I’m hurting and feeling loss … even though it takes a significant amount of time and effort. Cannot be easily provoked, as you may discover I have attachment issues, and will spend many days trying to make you hate me. It is required you be able to celebrate the good and teach me what is true about myself, even when I believe lies so deeply embedded within my thoughts and heart. Requirement: must bear all things, believe all things, hope all things and endure all things. You are not expected to be perfect, but you are expected to never give up.

”I could never, ever capture all I’ve learned about adoption in one post. So, in closing, allow me to be a lazy …… and just link to some of my other blabberings on the subject:

Painful Truth of International Adoption
Kids From the Hard Places
Open Adoption
When an Adoption Must Disrupt
Definitely, Maybe!
That Kid is Not “Bad,” He’s Hurt

Don’t freak out. Just stare it all in the face. Then stare yourself in the face. Then figure out what God is asking of you. Then throw up. Then do it.

Christine blogs at www.welcometomybrain.net

Technorati Tags: Haiti, God’s Littlest Angels, Orphans, Adoption



]]> http://godslittlestangelsinhaiti.org/2010/07/13/adoption-series-thoughts-from-an-adoptive-mom/feed/ 1 http://godslittlestangelsinhaiti.org/2010/07/12/6-month-anniversary-in-haiti-a-guest-post/ http://godslittlestangelsinhaiti.org/2010/07/12/6-month-anniversary-in-haiti-a-guest-post/#comments Tue, 13 Jul 2010 04:05:06 +0000 Tom Vanderwell http://godslittlestangelsinhaiti.org/?p=2046 It is hard to believe that it has been six months since the earthquake that devastated the nation of Haiti. I came to Haiti shortly after the earthquake as part of a team that went to GLA to help bring in aid and do whatever we could do to help the staff and children here.  One of the miracles I witnessed during my three weeks away from home was the ‘delivery’ of a tiny baby named Jude. He was brought to us because his mother had given him to a mission team who in turn brought him to us so we could take care of him. He would not feed from a bottle, was small for his gestational age, cold and dehydrated. The nurses at GLA took excellent care of this little guy and after a few weeks he started feeding from a bottle and gaining weight.  Jude has faced a few other challenges as written about in Dixie’s blog earlier this year but he has overcome these challenges.

I returned to Haiti on July 9 with a team from my church. We will be providing a Vacation Bible School in the mornings this week for the oldest kids at GLA as well as some of the kids from neighboring homes.  Friday evening I was able to see Jude again! Saturday, I was able to take Jude out onto the balcony for awhile. My heart soared in thankfulness to God over His protection for this baby who was so tiny and now is big, strong and chubby! Jude is full of smiles and drools. He is almost sitting up by himself. He is a precious child of God.

I am also very thankful that I can be back in Haiti. It is very hard to see how difficult it continues to be for the people of Haiti. The numerous tent cities remain with scores of people living in very little space with little sanitation and food and with lots of heat, humidity and mold. I fear for the health of the people living in these cities.  I personally have no solutions. I do know there are groups that are working in these tent cities to help those that live there, including the pastor of the home church I worshiped at yesterday.  Please continue to pray for the people here in Haiti, both those that were left homeless and without their families and those that are ministering to these people.

I hope to blog a few more times this week while I am here in Haiti. Melissa, I hope you are having a great time at home with your family and will look forward to you blogging again.

 

Cheryl

P.S. For those of you who don’t know, the guest author of this post is also known as Tom’s wife (or more accurately, Tom is known as her husband!)

Technorati Tags: Haiti,Earthquake,Orphans,God’s Littlest Angels



]]> http://godslittlestangelsinhaiti.org/2010/07/12/6-month-anniversary-in-haiti-a-guest-post/feed/ 1 http://godslittlestangelsinhaiti.org/2010/07/12/adoption-series/ http://godslittlestangelsinhaiti.org/2010/07/12/adoption-series/#comments Tue, 13 Jul 2010 00:12:00 +0000 Tom Vanderwell http://godslittlestangelsinhaiti.org/?p=2032 Tom here with a few thoughts to “kick” this off……
• One of the great things about the adoptive parent “world” is that almost everyone is willing to help others.    The sharing of experiences, the sharing of ideas is truly a wonderful thing. 
• Tara Livesay is a friend of ours, a missionary in Haiti, and has the distinct privilege of being the only other family I know of who also has an adopted son from Haiti whose name is Isaac.   Right there, that has to mean that they are awesome people…….

Tara has put together a series of articles from a variety of friends of hers about various aspects of adoption.   With Tara’s permission, I’m going to repost part of them here over the next few weeks.   If you want to read the entire articles, there will be a link to each article in my posts or you can read them on Tara’s blog at The Livesay Haiti Blog.

I hope you find them thought provoking, enriching, questioning and worthwhile.  I have so far.

Tom

 

Technorati Tags: Haiti,God’s Littlest Angels,Orphans,Livesay,Adoption



]]> http://godslittlestangelsinhaiti.org/2010/07/12/adoption-series/feed/ 0 http://godslittlestangelsinhaiti.org/2010/07/12/abba-changes-everything-%e2%80%93-why-christians-need-to-care-for-orphans/ http://godslittlestangelsinhaiti.org/2010/07/12/abba-changes-everything-%e2%80%93-why-christians-need-to-care-for-orphans/#comments Mon, 12 Jul 2010 16:33:35 +0000 Tom Vanderwell http://godslittlestangelsinhaiti.org/?p=2029 A couple of friends of mine who work for Bethany Christian Services told me about this article.   It’s a very lengthy but very well written article that makes a couple of main points:
• There are no biological children in the family of God.   We are all adopted by God as His children.
• There is an innate longing in all children for  not only a spiritual father to belong to but an earthly father to belong to.
• While not everyone is called to adopt or foster, part of our response to what God has done for us must be to care for the fatherless.

Abba Changes Everything | Christianity Today | A Magazine of Evangelical Conviction.

I’ve just summarized a 5 page article in 3 points, so please click on the link and read it for yourself.    But even if you can’t read the entire thing, read the first page and then ask yourself:

• How can an orphanage be that quiet?  It’s truly disturbing to read something like that.
• How are you, your family and your church responding to God’s call to care for the orphans of the world?

Those of us who are involved with God’s Littlest Angels are working up some additional opportunities for you and others to help care for the children in Haiti.    Stay tuned……

Tom



]]> http://godslittlestangelsinhaiti.org/2010/07/12/abba-changes-everything-%e2%80%93-why-christians-need-to-care-for-orphans/feed/ 0 http://godslittlestangelsinhaiti.org/2010/07/10/so-what-is-the-likelihood/ http://godslittlestangelsinhaiti.org/2010/07/10/so-what-is-the-likelihood/#comments Sat, 10 Jul 2010 13:29:00 +0000 Tom Vanderwell http://godslittlestangelsinhaiti.org/?p=1899
• that the kids who are living here are getting a good night sleep?
• that the kids who are living here are getting 3 good meals a day?
• that the kids who are living here are getting a good education?

Yeah, I didn’t think so either.    That’s why I’m still working on behalf of the kids in Haiti.   I hope you’ll continue to work on their behalf too.

Tom

when they get 4 inches of rain in a couple of hours……..

Haiti Orphans Have Little But Each Other

Adoption and Theology from Christianity Today

Nope, it’s not and the rest of the world needs to stay involved because it’s the right thing to do……

And to live there, not just for 1 day, or 1 week, but for the entire hurricane season and then some…

Now ask yourself, what can you (and I) do about it?

• Providing a hope and a future for a child who wouldn’t have one otherwise.
• Providing evidence of why so many have been working so hard (and continue to) since the earthquake.
• Providing evidence of how, for generations to come, the Wilkins family will be better, deeper, richer and more blessed because they chose to answer God’s call and adopt Samuel.

I haven’t met Joe, Jill or Samuel, though Jill and I spent many many many sleepless hours working on disaster relief.  I think that the last person I talked to the morning of January 13 (before going to bed at 3:45 AM my time) was Jill Wilkins.   It is so good to see them doing so well and I really hope that they are able to make it out to Michigan for the Reunion in August.

Enjoy the read…….

Haiti quake aftermath: Boy forges a bond as bright as tomorrow | OregonLive.com

Words tumble out of little Sam Wilkins’ mouth in the mumbled, husky run-on of a whirligig toddler.

Fish, shoe, coat.

Dump truck, latte, no.

Starbucks!

Elmo!

Awesome!

Daddy.

All of the words are recent acquisitions, but the last one has special meaning for Sam’s parents, Jill and Joe Wilkins. Joe, 38, a Beaverton third-grade teacher, took the winter and spring off work to get to know his first child after collecting him during a dramatic airlift of 82 Haitian orphans after the catastrophic Jan. 12 earthquake.

It is a peas-and-carrots kind of kinship. In adoption parlance, they are “bonded.” When you see them, taking part in a baby swim class for instance, where Joe swirls Sam under the water like a porpoise, setting off a sputter of giggles, they look like something more mundane, something without quotation marks. A father. A son.

“He likes the water,” says Joe, once an All-American relay and back stroke swimmer at Linfield College in McMinnville, and, more recently, a swim coach. A half-smile plays on his lips as Sam dips his head underwater and pops up in a blink with a blissful look on his wet face.

“He’s a fish. A true Wilkins.”

In retrospect, after a baby moves to his forever home, taking on a new name and a new world, adoption stories can seem rather straightforward.

Not Sam’s tale.

The Wilkinses set off down the international adoption road in January 2007. Two years, reams of paperwork and an excruciating wait later, Dixie Bickel, director of the God’s Littlest Angels orphanage in the hills above Port-au-Prince, matched the Wilkinses with Samuel Chancelet — an anime-eyed infant whom Bickel posed in his first holiday photo in a white fleecy romper and a tan-and-red reindeer cap.

Childless after a dozen years of marriage, the Wilkinses said yes, of course, yes.

Soon, they watched the boy with the long lashes and open gaze during a webcam visit from their sleek Southwest Portland split-level. Joe wiped away tears as his son-to-be fidgeted in Haiti, tapping the computer keys and generally missing the import of the occasion.

It mattered not. They flew to visit the 14-month-old in Haiti, first in July 2009. Joe stayed two weeks longer and caught the baby’s first words on video: “Mama!”

They returned to Haiti in December. When they arrived, Jill grabbed the camera and pointed it in the baby sleeping room.

I wonder if he’ll recognize you? Jill asked. Say his name. So Joe whispered, “Samuel.” In a shaky video of the moment, Sam careens around his roommates and leaps into Joe’s arms.

Last Christmas, Bickel sent a card with her staffers’ descriptions of the 19-pound, 30-inch tall boy the Wilkinses already thought of as Sam: “Chancelet is …”

And they wrote:

affectionate

smiley

energetic

curious

adorable

petite

bright-eyed

outgoing.”

Jill and Joe learned on Dec. 29 that their adoption paperwork made it through Stage 1 of the labyrinthine Haitian regional court system. Still before them the next year: Stage 2, a layer of bureaucracy known as attestation, approval by the minister of justice and other Port-au-Prince agencies, and finally, American visa and passport hoops.

Then, the quake:

On the day it struck, the couple watched the horror unfold online and on their TV screens. No matter how long it took, they agreed, it was time to help the orphanage and to bring Sam, then 20 months, home. Joe called his boss and asked for an indefinite leave of absence.

He arrived in Miami and for three days helped gather much-needed water, food, blankets, tents and medicine for an emergency charter flight. A week after the 7.0 quake, Joe flew to Haiti with the supplies, bound for the God’s Littlest Angels orphanage and its hard-hit neighbors in the Kenscoff Mountains above Port-au-Prince.

Jill, 38, arrived in Miami one day later. Director of internal communications for a Portland computer hardware company, Jill had taken on the political and media fronts. That involved calling lawmakers, engaging reporters, e-mailing and writing letters, anything to press the Haitian and U.S. governments to jointly streamline the last steps for children poised to be adopted internationally.

Though Joe got to work behind the green gates of the orphanage, checking for cracks in the building and towing armloads of rattled children to the open-air lanai, Jill organized more than 55 GLA adoptive parents of kids marooned in Haiti. She coordinated their message for television and newspaper interviews.

These kids have families and their paperwork is already legit, Jill’s message went. If the governments let them leave, GLA is in the position to take on many of those newly orphaned by the quake.

Both Joe and Jill blogged the crisis. Larry King questioned them about the fate of the kids. The other parents told their stories on newscasts around the country. The Dutch government evacuated children adopted by their citizens. Seven hundred miles apart, the Wilkinses clawed away at their own bureaucratic mountain. The mountain was no match.

On Jan. 18, the U.S. State Department announced that some Haitian orphans, including Sam, would be eligible for humanitarian parole, a proverbial snip through layers of bureaucracy that would allow GLA to fly dozens of orphans to Miami before the full and final completion of their adoptions.

Back in Haiti, Sam wasn’t verbal yet, but his eyes and his contagious smile sang.

Orphanage staffers prepared the 82 children for a next-day airlift out of Toussaint Louverture International Airport in Port-au-Prince. Aftershocks rattled the island nation and the children’s nerves.

Sam lost his cool for a moment, scrambling after a fleeing line of toddlers. Joe, one of a small number of parents on hand to help, cooed him back to calm.

He is a mellow boy. Lounging against teacher Ruth Charles’s bosom in the hourlong caravan to the airport, dandled from the hip of an Army sergeant on the hay-covered airfield, he made not a peep. But he watched when Joe stepped away and when their eyes met, Sam looked at Joe conspiratorially.

Tears spilled when they emerged after four hours in the air and eight hours in a U.S. immigration holding area at Miami International Airport, to formally reunite with Jill, whose labors on behalf of Sam and his fellow orphans were culminating in a wrenching moment.

“We waited so long for this,” Jill choked out, clutching Sam close. Married 15 years and ready to grow their family for many of those, Joe watched, red-eyed.

Last Sunday, many bad neckties, barbecue accessories and straight-to-the-garage gewgaws were no doubt gifted to perfectly wonderful fathers.

Sam, via his mom, gave his dad a sweet gas grill.

After summer’s end, Sam will start preschool. Joe, a hands-on dad, is making the most of the time they have left to hang out together.

A few days a week, they stop by Starbucks and deliver a triple-shot Venti vanilla latte to Jill at work. After dinner, they take a “boy’s walk” around the block while she tackles the dishes.

Joe waits, arms so wide, at the bottom of the slide at Roxbury Park. He pulls Sam uphill in his red little wagon. He wipes the applesauce from Sam’s chin and tucks him between island-themed bedsheets in his blue and mahogany bedroom for late-morning naps. He holds Sam close at doctor’s visits, whispering comfort when the shots begin. He roars back when Sam lets loose a classic lion roar. He watches over bath time, still a little stunned, while his son, the fish, splashes in delight.

Every day feels like Father’s Day. And now that Sam is talking, sprinkling new-minted phrases like happy tears, it sounds like it, too.

“Daddy,” Sam says, “I love you.”

– Kimberly A.C. Wilson

Technorati Tags: Earthquake, God’s Littlest Angels

Molly gave her a couple of suggestions that I’d love to see if we could get:

• Used laptops – they are working on getting the kids some computer experience and could really use some “decent” used laptops.   No major requirements, just computers that would be good for younger kids.
• Mice – not the furry type, but USB mice for computers.   Molly and Joyce could use a good number of them.
• Educational DVDs – I don’t know what they have but personally, I’d love to see the kids at the Toddler House singing “I’m only a Bill” with Schoolhouse Rock…..

Now here’s the timing issue.    The group from our church is leaving on July 8 and are going to be packing the night of July 7.   So if you have any of those items that you can donate, we’d need them to be to our house by noon on July 7.

If you have the ability to donate any of those, e-mail me at tvanderwell@sbcglobal.net and I’ll let you know where and how to get them to us.

Thanks!

Tom

Okay, Tom here, and we need your help.   Let me explain the numbers…..

There are 1,200,000 (or more) people in Haiti who are living under tarps and in tents.

The National Hurricane Center is predicting 11-16 “named” storms during the 2010 hurricane season.

“Named Storm” + “Living under a Tarp” does NOT equal a good situation.

GLA has 11 containers full of supplies for the Haitian people that are currently in Port Au Prince waiting to clear customs.

If my math is correct, that is 35,200 cubic feet of supplies waiting to be sorted and distributed.

To put that in perspective, that’s enough to fill nine 2 stall garages worth of supplies that are needed down there.

That’s right, that’s 9 of these stacked 8 foot high throughout the entire thing.

So what do we need help with?   Let me lay it out:

• It costs approximately $10,000 a month to have those containers sitting in Port waiting to clear customs.  
• We don’t currently have space to store the 11 containers worth of goods until they can be sorted and distributed out of the weather (see note above about hurricanes).
• So, this morning, the board decided, per John’s recommendations, to build a 35 x 50 pole barn at Ft. Jacques to be used as our distribution headquarters.

When does John want to begin construction?    He told me today that it will take a couple of days to get supplies, so he’d like to get started in a couple of days.

So, Tom, give me specifics, how can we help?

• We need 4 to 8 strong guys who can come down to GLA and help John build the pole barn soon, like this week or next week.  It would be awesome if they were people who have experience building pole barns and construction, but John can train anyone who can use a hammer and has a strong back (sorry, that rules me out!)

IF YOU CAN HELP, E-Mail both me at tvanderwell@sbcglobal.net and also Jean Bell at jean@glahaiti.org and let us know when you can travel and then call Jean on Monday at 719-638-4348 to coordinate details.

• Here are the main things that John said it would be good to bring down:
• Hammers
• Battery operated drills – and as many extra batteries as you can – so we can run a lot of sheet metal screws.
• Metal siding screws – lots of them
• 3 inch and 4 inch framing nails.

Now we realize that not everyone can drop everything and go to Haiti for a week or more, even though many of us would love to.   But I’ve got to believe that given the current state of the economy, there are a handful of guys who could manage a week or two.   We don’t need everyone, just four or five or six or seven or eight…..

But I also realize that many of the people who would have the time to help (and the skills) might not also have the ability to pay for the cost of flying down to GLA.

So, if you aren’t a builder who can help by going down and lending a hand, how about helping those who can by clicking on the chip-in at the bottom of this post and donating to help pay for the materials that are needed and the airfare to get the construction guys down to GLA?

Thanks in advance for what I know you’ll do to help us help in Haiti!

“Goodbye” to the only home I remember.

“Goodbye” to “Gwo Mama” who never let me get away with anything.

“Goodbye” to Molly and Joyce who were always there with a hug when I needed it.

“Goodbye” to Tantan who loved me like her own kid.

“Goodbye” to Dixie.  I didn’t know it then, but without her, I wouldn’t have had a home.

Goodbye to my friends, at least the ones who were still there.  It was finally my turn to say goodbye!   One after another after another went to Canada, the United States, France, the Netherlands.  To their families.  Now it’s my turn.

But on that day, I also got to say, “Hello”

“Hello” to three big sisters who came along with my parents.

“Hello” to my first ride in an airplane – and I got to ride in three different ones that day!

“Hello” to a Dad who would carry me through the airport.

“Hello” to a Mom who loves me even when I get mad and throw a temper tantrum.

“Hello” to this novel concept called Grandpa and Grandma.   Someone who loves me and spoils me and always is happy to see me.   This is awesome!

“Hello” to all kinds of strange foods – but it didn’t take me long to decide that I like chicken nuggets and french fries!

“Hello” to not just the “idea” of a family but to the reality of one.  I have a Mom and a Dad!

“Hello” to someone to tuck me in bed.  Not just someone, but “My Someone.”

My Mom and Dad.

Forever.

On June 25, 2004, two children who had been at GLA said “Goodbye” and “Hello” and became part of the Vanderwell family.  Since that time, we’ve been privileged to take part in a remarkable adventure.   We’ve had highs, we’ve had lows, we’ve met many, many remarkable people and experienced things we never thought we would.

Throughout it all, we’ve seen and experienced the hand of God moving in ways that we had never imagined.

On this important day in the life of the Vanderwell family, I want to publicly thank Dixie, Molly, Joyce, John, Tantan, LaDawn, Gwo Mama and all the rest who made a difference in the lives of our children until we could bring them home to our family.

Forever.

The Vanderwell Family at the Airport on June 25, 2004

Our two God’s Littlest Angels on Easter Sunday, 2010 on vacation in Florida

Rob Frank and MiMi, who will be inducted into the Country Music Association at Saturday nights Keith Urban Concert, will attend God’s Littlest Angels donation drive for Haiti.

God’s Littlest Angels (GLA) will be holding a donation drive for Haiti in downtown Greeley on Saturday 26 June from 9 am to 12pm at Zoe’s Café located at 715 10th Street.

On the 12^th of January Haiti was hit by a catastrophic earthquake that shocked the world. No longer does it dominate the world’s attention as we’ve moved onto other natural and manmade disasters, breaking news, and political situations. Simply because the spotlight has shifted off of Haiti does not mean that Haiti is whole again. Quite the contrary, Haiti is still very broken. Who is left to pick up the pieces?

Items needed include: deodorant, toothpaste, toothbrushes, bar soap, washcloths, towels, sheets, canned foods, peanut butter, flashlights, batteries, any hygiene items (adult and children’s), and anything else one would use in their daily routines.

Recently Rob Frank and Mimi who will be hosting a TV series “Rob & Mimi on Tour! On the Bus!” scheduled to air this fall, have partnered with the Non-Profit organization God’s Littlest Angels. Founders, John & Dixie Bickel, have been working in Haiti since 1991.

God’s Littlest Angels (GLA) is a Haitian orphanage located in the mountains above Petion-Ville, close to the village of Fermathe. GLA is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization incorporated in the State of Colorado. The organization is actively helping the Haitian people after the devastating earthquake.  They are bringing containers of relief aid into Haiti and will continue to do so until people are able to get out of their tents and back into homes!  They have started to help rebuild some homes for their staff and are helping others in the community around them by doing distribution of goods. GLA is making a difference one person, one life, one family at a time.

Rob Frank is a recognizable spokesperson. He produced the Inaugural Ball for former President George Bush and Vice President Richard Cheney. Rob has produced military shows, award shows, mega parades, music festivals, music videos, photo shoots, and television benefit concerts around the world under the direction of H. Ross Perot. In addition, he has managed high profile entertainment artists around the country. Rob will be on hand during the drive to greet fans and answer questions about the upcoming TV series.

For more information please call 719-638-4348 or visit www.glahaiti.org.

When 1.2 million people live in tent cities like this:

then heavy rains are bad enough.   But a hurricane or tropical storm?   That would be even worse.

So, say a prayer tonight and every night from now until the end of the hurricane season asking God to put a protective bubble over Haiti.   Give them enough water to grow crops and stay healthy but help the storms to pass Haiti by.

Thanks for praying……

Tom
Healthy Tropical Disturbance Roams the Caribbean – weather.com

Healthy Tropical Disturbance Roams the Caribbean
by Chris Dolce, Tim Ballisty
A tropical wave producing persistent shower and thunderstorm activity has been moving through the eastern and central Caribbean the last couple of days.

In the near term, locally heavy rain and flash flooding are threats to the Dominican Republic, Haiti and Puerto Rico. This thunderstorm activity is likely to spread westward to Jamaica, the Cayman Islands and Cuba through late week.

Nathan’s 6^th Birthday Party

Sometimes our family is overwhelmed by how much those of us in North America have – and how little we appreciate it.  My husband and I see the issues we have with ‘stuff’ so much in ourselves, and it saddens us to see it come out in our kids as well.  We know that Jesus asks us to live a different way and have tried to implement these ways into our lives in a move to live a simpler life.  As a way to teach our children about simplicity and sharing, we had decided to take a leap with our children’s birthday parties.  For our son Nathan’s sixth birthday, we asked him if he would be willing to share the presents he gets from his friends with kids in Haiti.  We were expecting hesitation on his part (because we felt hesitation!), and were pleasantly surprised by his nonchalant, “Sure.”

We planned for the party (with an Olympics theme!), all the time making sure that he understood that the presents brought would be for the kids in Haiti – baby cereal, vitamins and rain ponchos & umbrellas.  I kept expecting questions, but none came.  Nathan seemed fine with the plan for the presents.  He was excited to plan the party – coming up with games, creating the box for people to put their presents in and making flags for decorations.

The day of the party arrived.  Nathan had a great time running around with his friends, screaming and playing with a huge smile on his face.    He collected all the items to go to Haiti in a box with pictures of the orphanage.  After cake, we had a small present of Lego for Nathan to open with his friends.  Judging from the amount of laughter and smiles, the day seemed to be an astounding success.  Still I felt a nagging thought in the back of my head.  “Will Nathan feel hard done by?  Will he wonder why he didn’t get as many presents as his friends did at their parties?”

As I was putting Nathan to bed that night, I decided to assuage my guilt, and asked him how he felt about sharing his presents with the kids in Haiti.  “Oh mommy, it was good.  I still got presents and they did too,” he answered me.  I felt cut to the heart.  I was so worried that he would feel bitter because he only got a few presents instead of the many he was accustomed to.  I realized that his heart was much more willing to share than mine was.  His heart was not looking at how much he had in terms of “stuff.”  He saw how much joy he had in friendships and laughter celebrating his day.  He saw how much joy he had in terms of sharing what he could with those who have so much less.  I saw what he didn’t have.  He saw what he did have.  And my life is much richer for his six year old eyes.

“At that time Jesus said, ‘I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children. Yes, Father, for this was your good pleasure.’” Matthew 11:25-26

Submitted by Susan Bernhardt

Tom

The Livesay [Haiti] Weblog: Five months ago this morning …

Five months ago this morning …
… this was posted:

The Morning After – Earthquake Haiti 2010

The sun is about to come up. The aftershocks continue. Some more noticeable than others. There is no way to even begin to share the things we’ve heard and seen since 5pm yesterday. To do so would take hours that we don’t have to give right now. Some of them feel wrong to share – Like only God should know these personal horrible tragedies.

The few things we can confirm – yes the four story Caribbean Market building is completely demolished. Yes it was open. Yes the National Palace collapsed. Yes government buildings nearby the Palace collapsed. Yes St. Josephs Boys home is completely collapsed. Yes countless countless – countless other houses, churches, hospitals, schools, and businesses have collapsed. There are buildings that suffered almost no damage. Right next door will be a pile of rubble.

Thousands of people are currently trapped. To guess at a number would be like guessing at raindrops in the ocean. Precious lives hang in the balance. When pulled from the rubble there is no place to take them for care Haiti has an almost non existent medical care system for her people.

I cannot imagine what the next few weeks and months will be like. I am afraid for everyone. Never in my life have I seen people stronger than Haitian people. But I am afraid for them. For us.

When the quake hit it took many seconds to even process what was happening. The house was rocking back and forth in a way that I cannot even begin to describe. It felt fake. It felt like a movie. Things were crashing down all over the house. It felt like the world was ending. I do not know why my house stands and my children all lie sleeping in their beds right now. It defies logic that my babies were spared while thousands of others were not.

There are friends and co-workers that are missing. People whom no-one can account for. People we work with and love. There are more than I can name, but in particular we wait on one single friend who lived near the Hotel Montana – which has reportedly collapsed.

The horror has only just begun and I beg you to get on your knees – I truly mean ON YOUR KNEES and pray for the people of this country. The news might forget in a few days – but people will still be trapped alive and people will still be suffering. Pray. Pray. Pray. After that – PLEASE PRAY.

Tara for all of us

Technorati Tags: Haiti, God’s Littlest Angels, Tara Livesay

I’m running these, not because they have anything to do with God’s Littlest Angels, but because they provide an insight in the scope, the talent and the dedication of the people who are helping out in Haiti…..

Generation XYZ Haiti: An Interview with Kim Driscoll

I am immensely proud to introduce a new Grotto Interview Series, called GENERATION XYZ HAITI. It will be interviews with people on the ground in Haiti as well as representatives of those people. I am honored to introduce our first guest, Kim Driscoll, a representative of the amazing Global DIRT: Disaster Immediate Response Team.

Global DIRT: Disaster Immediate Response Team is a non-profit organization created by Adam Marlatt and Robert Sullivan, two members of the United States Marine Corps. Their small, all-volunteer organization has become a powerful force in Haiti following the devastating January 12th earthquake, and they provide services in areas not reached by some of the larger NGOs, and act as intermediaries between the larger organizations, the military and the victims. I recently spoke to Kim Driscoll, a representative of the organization. The interview is below.

1. What do you do for Global: DIRT? Can you give us a bit more information about your background and how you came to be so involved in the non-profit sector, specifically this organization?

I serve on Global DIRT’s board of directors, as well as coordinating States-based fund-raising and social media efforts. I answer questions, field phone calls from NGOs and coordinate contact with our ground team in Haiti. I love this organization and am generally willing to do whatever needs to be done for it to continue its good work in Haiti. Adam and I both went to the University of New Hampshire (when he wasn’t off being a Marine) and his job before the Marines was with some mutual friends. On the most recent “general volunteer trip” of mid-March, I knew two of the three volunteers that went to Haiti very well. During their absence, I saw a definite need for the organization to have more contact with the public. Global DIRT does such great and fantastic work in Haiti but so little information about them was available on the Internet. From that point on, I have been helping them run Facebook and Twitter pages to keep in contact with interested followers, as well as promoting locally and searching out fundraisers.

2. With so many NGOs on the ground in Haiti, why did Adam and Robert feel that their presence was necessary? What unique services do Global: DIRT bring to the affected areas that others cannot?

Global DIRT was the brain-child of Adam and Robert during their time as active duty U.S. Marines. Haiti has been the first real natural disaster for them to get involved in since becoming reserve-duty Marines. Adam initially went to Haiti by himself after the quake to assess the situation on the ground. He felt that some of the organizations were not in touch with the people and their actual needs as victims. He returned to the U.S., gathered supplies, funds, and Robert, and returned. They have been building up their support and following ever since.

Global DIRT’s goal for Haiti is to create a bridge between large aid organizations and the people in need. We are willing and ready to go above and beyond to make sure that the people of Haiti have medicine, clean water, and a safe, dry place to sleep. Our strong point for our organization is our size. We are a small enough NGO that we are capable of giving attention to areas that other organizations may feel have too few people to service. We also have high ambitions, loads of connections and a highly skilled team. Our nurse recently graduated from Northeastern University and has proven a key member of our team during these past weeks. We also have an amazing volunteer technical team that is able to create all of the online medical, logistical and database systems we dream up. We believe that these systems that we are starting to put into place will aid Haiti well through the hurricane season and reconstruction.

3. Obviously one of the major focuses of those working in Haiti right now is the rainy season. Have the rains started in full force, and what impact do you expect the rain will have on the conditions where you are and your ability to work?

It does rain frequently, but unfortunately, the rainy season has yet to hit full force. Obviously, the rainy season and its hurricane-strength winds will slow the work of NGOs and make conditions much more difficult for those Haitians still left without permanent shelter. We have been working diligently to prepare for the rainy season and are hoping to still work at the pace at which we now work. Our concern is that with the hurricanes, people will have a greater need than they do now and that many NGOs will be incapable of servicing Haitians directly outside of their sphere of influence. We have been bolstering our transportation and finding more secure shelter for our team and supplies to be able to continue traveling to these lesser serviced areas.

4. How are your volunteers doing? Physically, emotionally, mentally? Do you feel there are adequate mental health resources for the relief workers, soldiers and journalists where you are?

Our volunteers are doing well. We do our best to make sure that all of our volunteers have frequent access to the Internet and international phones to make contact with loved ones back home. Those who went to Haiti within two weeks of the quake have all been home in the U.S. for at least a week for a chance to rest and relax as much as possible. I cannot speak for the relief workers, soldiers or journalists outside of our care, but we do try our best to make sure that all of our own volunteers are given adequate time to rest and to contact those back home.

5. Are you at all involved with other NGOs working in Haiti? How do you feel about the work that is being done by Doctors without Borders, charity: water, The Clinton Foundation, JP HRO, UNICEF, the Red Cross, CARE, Save the Children, Yéle Haiti and others?

Teamwork and cooperation is a must for an NGO of our size. We are willing to work with any organization that needs our help or logistical assistance. Our goal is that the victims of the earthquake receive the aid they need. As long as aiding victims is the goal of the project, we are willing to assist in any way possible. As we are a small operation, we are sometimes unable to answer all of the requests that are sent our way and we truly regret this. However, we do try to help out as much as possible. As for other organizations, we have made some fantastic friends in some wonderful NGOs doing great work for Haiti. We can personally attest to the great work being done on the ground by JP/HRO and Doctors Without Borders.

6. Musician and blogger Richard Morse has been writing captivating articles for The Huffington Post these past few months, most notably his column “Stealth Zone,” where he details his experiences—both before and after the earthquake—involving attempts to silence him and to prevent certain businesses from profiting by placing them into “Red Zones,” alleged high-crime areas that don’t necessarily have higher incidences of violence than “Green Zones.” Where do you think these forces are coming from, and have you dealt with them?

I cannot say that we have really encountered this specific issue. We have witnessed corruption and abuse of power but are not particularly knowledgeable about the zones you’ve mentioned.

7. How can the average person get involved, and should people without medical, disaster relief or journalistic training be making the trip to Haiti right now?

We receive requests to help out in Haiti all of the time. We love the enthusiasm of people who are looking to get DIRTy to help in Haiti. However, Haiti is currently overburdened with preparations for the upcoming rainy season and we feel that only trained professionals should currently be traveling down. That being said, at a later time Haiti needs to be rebuilt and this would be a wonderful time to accept non-medically trained volunteers including carpenters, contractors and less technically trained citizens. To get involved now, we encourage people to both raise money and awareness. As we all know, Haiti isn’t making the 6 o’clock news anymore and people are becoming more and more desensitized to the situation the Haitians face on a daily basis. The best way for the average person to get involved is to join the “State-side” support of any Haiti relief organization. They can donate money, solicit corporate donations, have a bake sale or help NGOs find the medical supplies needed. That being said, we are always much more willing to consider volunteers who have shown a prolonged commitment to Haiti and our organization when planning volunteer group relief trips.

8. As you well know, 80% of the Haitian population was below the poverty line before the earthquake. Haiti needs long-term solutions, though due to the extent of the immediate need, the Red Cross has been under fire recently for their comment that they want to hold onto the majority of donations for long-term solutions. Where do you feel the long-term solutions lie? Can these solutions be created merely through private sector non-profits and UN attention? How do you feel about the Red Cross’s decision to hold onto approximately $300 million of donations earmarked for Haiti?

We believe that long-term solutions are the only way to get a new Haiti that doesn’t need NGO support for the next 20 years. To do this, Haiti needs management systems and not hand-outs. We are working hard to put medical and logistical systems in place and get Haitian citizens involved in them now, at their creation. A good solution for Haiti for the long term requires cooperation, as all good solutions do. NGOs and the UN must offer guidance and assistance while encouraging Haitians to help themselves whenever possible. Training and education will help create a more independent Haiti that no longer needs the daily assistance of international NGOs and hopefully will raise the nation to a much smaller percentage living below the poverty line. That being said, we need to save the people in need now before we withhold large sums of money to plan for their future.

9. Are there any major misconceptions in the media coverage surrounding this disaster? What should people in the States and elsewhere know about what’s happening where you are that hasn’t been reported properly?

The only misconception that we wish to correct is that the work being done to prepare for the rainy season is not the only work that needs to be done for Haiti. There will be a great deal of work to be done once the rainy season has finished and we hope that the media is still willing to focus on Haiti at that time.

10. What didn’t I ask you that I should have asked you?

How do we deal with critics that comment: “There’s so much need for help and relief here in America, why go to Haiti?”

Primarily, we are based as a disaster response team. We would be equally willing to provide for a disaster of similar proportions in the United States, but a natural disaster as such has yet to arise while Adam and Robert were not serving as Marines. Secondarily, many of our volunteers are involved in programs within the United States that offer aid and assistance within U.S. borders. Aside from Adam and Robert both serving in the U.S. Military, our nurse, Lauren, does wonderful work helping anyone in medical need. Multiple of our volunteers, including myself, serve as Big Brothers or Big Sisters in the Big Brothers/Big Sisters organization as well as general volunteering for soup kitchens and cancer awareness organizations. We would hate for anyone to think that our aid and volunteering remain exclusively abroad when so many of us do our best to do wonderful work here as well.

Global DIRT is a registered 501(c)(3) organization, and relies solely on the contributions of their donors and all-volunteer staff. All proceeds go directly to funding operations on the ground and making a difference in the lives of the people of Haiti. Please consider donating via PayPal today. You can follow Global: DIRT on Twitter @globalDIRT.

1. The majority, if not all, of the items on the list that Susan gave me are NOT able to be purchased without a prescription.
2. But most of you should be able to contact your family doctor, give him a list of the items that Susan requested, explain that they are for an orphanage in Haiti and ask how many they can help get.
3. If you are willing to “cold call” some pharmaceutical companies looking for donations, contact Rebecca Taylor. Rebecca has graciously volunteered to do some research on which companies manufacture which of the medicines that we need.
4. Don’t buy any of them online unless you check the sources out very carefully with our medical people at GLA.   There are too many out there that aren’t reliable, aren’t good quality meds and are too expensive.

On July 8, my wife and daughter will be going down to GLA with a group from our church.   In talking about it last night, they have room for approximately 10 suitcases worth of medical supplies.   Here’s what I’d love to have happen:

• As many of you as possible, get with your family doctor and see what they are willing to do in terms of providing/donating any of the medicines on Susan’s list.
• When you know what you can get, e-mail my daughter, Kristin Vanderwell and let her know how much you can come up with so she can track the space they have available.
• Ship them to our house. Our address is:   Tom & Cheryl Vanderwell 3056 Viewpoint St. Jenison, MI 49428
• Ship them early enough so that we can get them in time to pack them on July 7 because they leave on July 8.
• If you find you have access to substantial amounts that either exceed the size that the  Hillcrest team would have room for or exceed the costs that you can handle personally, let me know and we’ll work something out.

I’d love to send 10 or 11 suitcases worth of these medications down to Dixie and Susan and the rest of the nurses on July 8.   Imagine what a difference that could make for the lives of the kids there!   Imagine what a message that would send to Dixie and the gang about how people still care and are still working to help!

If you’ve got questions, chances are that someone else does as well, so leave the questions in the comments section and we’ll get answers.

I’m going to repost the list of items again at the bottom of this post.

Thanks,

Tom Vanderwell

Aciclovir (200mg) Dispersible
Aciclovir 5% cream
Albendazole 400mg chewable
Azithromycin (200mg/5ml) Powder for Suspension
Ceftriaxone (500mg) powder for injection
Co-trimoxazole 200mg + 40mg/5ml Oral suspension (we use this regularly and it is no longer available in Haiti)
Diazepam 10mg/2ml for injection
Epinephrine 1mg/ml for injection
Fluconazole 50mg/5ml (maybe 10 bottles)
Folic Acid 5mg
Metronidazole (125mg/5ml) Suspension (Again, we use a lot of this and can no longer buy it in Haiti)
Prazinquantel (600mg)
Vitamine A 50 000iu gel capsules
Vitamine A 100 000 iu gel capsules
Vitamine B compound 2ml for injection
Vit K1 (1mg/1ml) for injection (I need this quite urgently). It is very expensive to buy in the USA.
Zink Dispersible 20mg (maybe 200 tabs).

But whether the video is up or not, the facts remain these:

• ESPN did a very moving story about the Haitian girls soccer team and how the girls have been affected by the quake.
• If you look up the definition of “vulnerable” in the dictionary, I think it would include girls agest 15-18 living on their own in a tent city.
• There are people who want to help.

I’ve put a couple of pieces up on here about this story but I just found out that it’s on YouTube now so it should be “up” for good.

Many of you have asked, “What can we do to help?”   My response has been, “we’re working on some things, stay tuned.”

Here’s a little more of an update:

1. We’re exploring with ESPN and others the possibility of getting these girls student visas and getting them to the United States and/or Canada.   Nothing concrete has been figured out yet, but we’re working on it.
2. If that’s able to happen, we’re going to need families who can host the girls for 1 to 6 years (6 would assume 2 years of high school and four years of college).
3. We’re also going to need high schools near the host families who would be willing to have the girls as students.    From what I’ve found in talking to a couple of Senators’ offices, the student visas don’t get issued without a participating school already being lined up.
4. We’re going to need corporate sponsors and individual contributors.   The cost of having 15 to 20 girls travel to the states and live here for quite some time wouldn’t be inconsequential.
5. We’d like to try to line up some universities and colleges that would consider scholarships for the girls once they are done with high school.

So here’s what you can do to help:

1. Pray – without God’s blessing on this, it won’t be possible.   With God’s blessing, anything is possible.
2. Ask yourself (and others you know) if you’d be willing to be a host family for one or more of the girls.   If you would, send me an e-mail at tvanderwell@sbcglobal.net with “I want to host one of the girls soccer team” as the subject line and then a brief synopsis of your family, your location, your experience with teenagers (because these teens have been through more than your average teen) and contact info.
3. Talk to the administrators at your local high school and ask them if they’d be willing to help.   If so, send me an e-mail at tvanderwell@sbcglobal.net with “XYZ High School in This City is willing to help” and then in the e-mail put a brief update on the school, the location, the contact info etc.
4. Ask yourself (and others) if they know anyone who would consider being a corporate sponsor for the girls soccer team.   If you get any leads, talk to them and find out if they are interested in doing so.  If so, e-mail me at tvanderwell@sbcglobal.net with “corporate sponsor” in the subject line and then tell me what they are thinking and who we should contact.   In terms of sponsorships, think big if you know people at large corporations but also think local.
5. If you know anyone at any colleges or universities, explore the possibility of scholarships with them.   See what you can find out and e-mail me at tvanderwell@sbcglobal.net with “College Scholarships” with the details if you find some solid interest.

I want to remind everyone that this is NOT a for sure thing at this point.   We are working on getting a lot of the details ironed out but we don’t know if this will work, if it will work anywhere near close to what we’re thinking or what God has planned with it all.   So, we are not accepting any donations designated specifically for this cause at the moment because we don’t know for sure.

But we’re working on it, praying about it, and if we’re going to get it put together, we’ll need a LOT of people to help.

Thanks,

Tom Vanderwell

• It picks up on quite well the juxtaposition (how’s that for a $5 word?) between the tragedy, sorrow and pain that is felt in Haiti and the inner beauty, strength and kindness that their people and the country as a whole feel.
• I really like the phrase “Resolve to Love Larger.”    May we all find the strength, determination and courage to love larger.

So, read the article, think about the cab driver who lost his 8 year old daughter and ask yourself, “How is God calling me to Love Larger?”  

I’ll be asking myself the same question.

Tom

A visitor finds sorrow and pain — and beauty and kindness — in Haiti – Haiti – MiamiHerald.com

Yesterday we took a taxi to go visit Marise. Marise with the high-pitched voice who calls Deb every day. Marise, who when I first got here said to Deb “please put her on the phone” even though she knew I didn’t speak a word of Creole. She rattled away greetings in Creole and I rattled them back in English and we talked like this for a few minutes on the phone, back and forth, our introductions and warm greetings and laughter, even though we had no idea what the other was saying.

Marise is part of an organization in Port-au-Prince called KOFAVIV, working to ensure women’s rights. She is the mother of five, the three youngest of whom she is now living with in a home built out of sticks and tarps.

We got in the taxi on the way to visit her, and a few minutes into the drive we were laughing with the driver about some little thing. And then Deb asked him, as she does of most everyone she talks to, if he lost anyone in the earthquake.

He pulled out a tiny picture, the size you get for school pictures of his beautiful little 8-year-old girl.

She was out playing in the yard near a wall when the earthquake happened and the wall fell on her. He dug her out himself and she had already passed. He wanted to take her to the countryside to bury her and was trying to gather the money to arrange getting there.

He waited three days, but after three days he could not wait any longer. So he had to wrap her carefully in a sheet and carry her into the street. Front-end loaders were coming through the streets to scoop up the bodies left on the curbs. He could not stand to leave her in the street to be scooped up by a machine. The only thing he could do was wrap her in a sheet and place her gently in the bucket of the front end loader himself — to be driven away and buried in a mass grave. He says he thinks of her every minute. “I am resigned,” he says.

I hesitate repeating this story. This story that is not mine, but only witnessed, knowing that I, who am writing it, and you who are reading it, can be touched and then move on through the day, while someone else forever lives the depths of it. I wonder what greater purpose it serves, or if it numbs people to suffering to hear people’s hard stories.

My hope is that maybe, in some complex configuration that connects strangers across the world . . . some steady simple equation of ripple effects. . . that a heart hurting for this little girl will connect to some resolve to love larger. The strength to nurture some other precious life.

And maybe this little girl could not have been spared by the slipping of the earth. Or maybe, in fact, she could have been. If the wall had been built stronger, or if her family hadn’t been driven by forces out of their control into the city to try and make a living off of driving a cab, but instead had been somewhere else, anywhere else –

Marise gets in the cab with us with kisses for everyone including the driver, whom she has never met. I imagine there is an undercurrent of understanding that they don’t yet know about.

We drive only a couple of minutes, pull over to get out, he turns off the car and we all just sit for a few minutes. They are talking about the kids they have lost. His 9-year-old girl and her 20-year-old son who disappeared that day, lost within the rubble. She says, “Everyone tells me he is fine, that I’ll find him, but I know I won’t.” He says, “Don’t believe them, it’s false hope.”

He says, “I see my daughter all the time, especially when I am eating.” She says, “I cannot eat.”

We walk down the road to the house Marise has created. She is lovely and dignified and full of grief. I won’t tell you her story right now. Only so much heartbreak can fit in one letter.

And though the heartbreak seems endless, there is so much more to be told. Endless gifts and lessons and beauty.

Like Sylvie’s smile and Marise’s children and little kids with kites and genius toys they have made out of scraps of nothing, and sunshine to dry clothes in (which means the rain is not falling through people’s bedsheet roofs), and the hummingbird I saw feeding from bright red ginger flowers.

FRIENDS, NEIGHBORS

Beauty like friendships that persist without spoken language, like the warmth and kindness I have been shown every day I have been here. Beauty like neighbors who daily watch out for each other, like doctors who do their work in the streets and clinics each day because their hearts demand it.

Like the group of approximately 1,600 doctors, trained at Cuba’s medical school, who have been sent at Cuba’s expense to provide free healthcare for a year, spread out through Port-au-Prince and small towns around the country. They are joined by a mental health artist’s brigade complete with magicians, dancers and puppeteers to heal spirits along with bodies. Beauty like the strength of so many Haitian people who despite countless reasons to feel hopeless are coming together hopeful and determined to rebuild something beautiful.

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