I am unable to edit food photos and blog about recipes, because my heart is very heavy. I am thinking of Haiti-- and remembering the one time that my cruise ship stopped there, in the 80's. I took a tour of the area where the earthquake has leveled so many buildings. I was touched by the poverty of these people. As I returned to my cruise ship-- and the abundance of food, I was deeply touched by the dichotomy that I had so many choices of food to eat. I remember the faces of the Haitians--begging for us to throw them money, as we stood along the ship's balconies. I remember that, weeks later, the cruise ships stopped coming to Haiti. The tourists felt it was "too depressing". Because I have never forgotten what I saw, I feel a sense of sorrow for this country. It's such a tragedy that this country, that already suffers from so much poverty, has been hit with such devastation. It just doesn't feel right for me to share photos of food-- which I am blessed to have so abundantly.
UPDATE: My local paper printed this information:
How to donate to Haitian relief efforts:
- The Salvation Army is accepting donations online at www.gosalarmy.org, by phone at 800-725-2769 or by mail at The Salvation Army World Service Office, International Disaster Relief Fund, P.O. Box 630728, Baltimore, MD 21263-0728. Designate donations "Haiti Earthquake." ·
- Haiti Emergency Relief Fund is accepting donations online at www.haitiaction.net or checks made out to Haiti Emergency Relief Fund/EBSC and mailed to East Bay Sanctuary Covenant, 2362 Bancroft Way, Berkeley, CA 94704.
- Interaction, a coalition of U.S.-based international nongovernmental organizations, has a list of agencies responding and how to donate to them. See www.interaction.org/ crisis-list/earthquake-Haiti.
- To donate $10 to the American Red Cross, text Haiti to 90999. The amount will be added to your next phone bill. The organization is also accepting donations through its International Response Fund, www.redcross.org.
If anyone has any other recommendations, please post the info on my blog. We can all be ripples to reach out to the plight of these lovely people. My thoughts and prayers are with those who have lost what little they had-- and for the relief workers who are already trying to make a difference!
I did find this
one website, and I also took the liberty of using their photo. As food bloggers, please join hands in spreading ways we can help. I'm a prayer warrior. If you are, too, please pray for this country. They need help!
With a heavy heart,
Thank you so much for helping to raise awareness and letting people know where to donate. I felt the same way as you this morning and my heart is heavy too imagining the suffering they are going through.
ReplyDeleteDebby, I, too, toured Haiti in the 80's as part of a cruise. I'll never forget the abject poverty we saw and the hospital, which was literally a tent. To begin with so little and have such devastation is truly tragic. Your post is sure to raise awareness.
ReplyDeleteOur cruise ship stopped there as well. The Haitians performed a dance for us while the ship had us eat ship-catered food. My son walked over to a shop and saw an item he wanted to purchase. "How much for this?" he asked. The gentleman replied, "For a plate of your food, you can have anything you want." My son promptly piled a heaping plate full of chicken and brought it back to the man and humbly chose a small wooden flute with "Haiti" stamped on it.
ReplyDeleteDebbie, some local Ben & Jerry's here in Florida are giving a free cone to everyone who donates money to help Haiti. You might want to see if they are doing it somewhere else. Hope it helps!
ReplyDeleteHugs and love to you, Debby. The footage I'm seeing is beyond hideous.
ReplyDeleteMy heart is very heavy for Haiti. When we lived in the islands, we had many Haitian friends that lived with us in Abaco whose roots were in Haiti and sent money home to their families every week. They were such kind and gentle people.
ReplyDeleteWe're in south Florida right now and at the supermarket we asked about our Haitian friends who worked there and the news they had received of their families was grim. It's heartbreaking. My prayers are with the people and their families.
Sam
I too am heavy with a burden for them. I echo your call to action.
ReplyDeleteWhat a lovely gesture Debby. Thank you for all the information. It is so sad. God bless them all.
ReplyDeleteIt is beyond belief what has happened. We have a large building in our city that holds an enormous amount of people and when I heard the death toll I realized it was twice the number that would fit in that building- it just makes me heart sick.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing this. These are all good organizations to support in the rescue effort.
ReplyDeleteSometimes it can be hard to grasp how difficult things are when we feel a world away but watching the impossibly sad pictures on television does make an impact. Thank you for the links.
ReplyDeletethat was an awesome post...
ReplyDeleteHere are more resources that have been posted via Twitter. The New York Times had photos of outdoor morgues--so heart wrenching.
ReplyDeleteA plethora of resources on Huffington Post: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/01/12/haiti-earthquake-relief-h_n_421014.html
Even more on Mashable: http://mashable.com/2010/01/13/haiti-earthquake-donate-help/
You can even donate via text message:
Musician Wyclef Jean has used Twitter to rally web users to contribute to his grassroots Yele Haiti earthquake fund. He’s urged his followers to text “Yele” to the number 501501. If you send the text, the organization will receive $5. The amount will be added to your next cell phone bill. Consider retweeting Wyclef’s updates and get some of your Twitter followers to donate, too.
There’s another texting option spreading through Twitter. You can text “HAITI” to 90999 to donate $10 via the Red Cross. Thanks to ABC News for pointing these out.
Thank you for giving me a reason to get on my knees...and not just mouth words in passing. Stay blessed
ReplyDelete