My friend and colleague Hilary sent this email about her time in Haiti to a bunch of us at work.  Please read it and then consider helping:

___________________________________________________________________

Hey guys….

As some of you may know, I just got back from Haiti. I was sent down the day after the earthquake, and stayed in Port au Prince for over two weeks. It was a life-changing experience. Now that I’m back, I’m finding it hard to get the images of devastation out of my head…I so easily packed up and returned to my comfortable, lucky life…while the people of Haiti will never be able to escape the everyday reality of tragic destruction. I was so struck by the Haitian people…their resilience, pride, and friendly curiosity…their willingness to stop and give us directions or help us make a 3-point turn as we drove through their decimated neighborhoods.

Back in the states, I now feel so helpless. Although a lot of money has been donated, I’ve seen firsthand that relief going into the country is like a tiny ripple in an ocean of need….i visited areas that hadn’t even been touched by the rescue/relief effort….where a crumbled school was left untouched, with 300 middle school students buried inside; some parents clinging onto the belief that their children were still alive inside, but there was nobody who had even driven through the neighborhood to help.

I don’t want to sound like a broken record…I’m sure many of you have already done your part. But I am so afraid that when I return to the county, it will look exactly the same. The collapse of the capital has left as many as 1 million people homeless, according to the UN. I saw children sleeping on the streets…and hundreds of thousands in tent cities…living under nothing more than a bed sheet and sticks, packed into any small patch of land, with no sanitation, water, or food supply. Disease is starting to run rampant, the heat is oppressive, there are mosquitoes…and the rainy season is quickly approaching, washing in new levels of desperation.

One tactile, urgent need— tents. The ability to give families more semblance of shelter…a bit more of a roof over their heads, a place to sleep, a temporary solution. I have researched the most direct way to get tents to those in need. I am asking you to donate a tent, used or unused….or send me money and I will purchase one for you. It is the most direct way to help.

Mark Richey is donating his warehouse near Boston to store the tents and then will ship them down to Florida. Once in Florida, the tents will be picked up and flown into Port au Prince, courtesy of Partners in Health, a very legit NGO that I saw all over the city while I was there. They are hoping to send the tents out by Feb. 12th. Please ship the tents to:

Mark Richey Woodworking
40 Parker Street
Newburyport, MA 01950-4056
978.499.3800 

Lemme know if you have any questions. Please pass this onto your friends. Thank you for your help and support—

hil