The Apparent Project

I'm loving this today:

New Blog: Haiti Hope

An honest and critical look at Welcome to Love reveals that things are getting a little confusing around here. When you walk into a particular business or event, you have expectations about what you experience is going to be. You don't go to a book club to learn about a "business opportunity" and you don't walk into a coffee shop expecting to get fast food (well, unless it's a Starbucks, but I digress).

But that's been happening around here, a Haiti post here, a Compassion post there, a book review & music review may even make it through the filter. This is confusing.

My apologies.

So, as part of some exciting new things taking place over the next few months, I am migrating all of my postings about Haiti to a new blog: Haiti Hope.

Welcome to Love is going back to its roots, my personal search for a deeper understanding of love, grace, and what it means to be a follower of Christ in the present day. I consider Compassion International a part of "what it means" so Compassion is still going to be a rock star around here. Be watching for some structural/visualchanges as well (more than normal!).

For it's part, Haiti Hope will be primarily dedicated to historical research, current events (political, economical, and social) humanitarian efforts and, most importantly hope for Haiti's future. While I admit that my religious, political and social worldview makes bias inevitable, I am not lobbying for any particular agenda. My goal is simply to gain a better understanding of Haiti and share that with you along with ways that you can get involved.

Come on over and visit!

Aristide and the Endless Revolution

Jean-Bertrand Aristide, president of Haiti, was
oustered from office by a rebel coup-d'etat in 2004

Last week, on the two-year anniversary of the Haiti Earthquake, I mentioned a documentary called Aristide and the Endless Revolution. I finally watched it last night.

The "Aristide" of the film is Jean-Bertrand Aristide, president of Haiti from 1991-1996 and 2001-2004. The majority of his first presidency was spent in exile, being ousted from office by a coup-d'etat a mere six months after his election and returning to to serve from 1994-1996. His second presidency in 2001 ended three years later in yet another coup-d'etat let by a rebel army made up of gangs armed with military weapons. The film explores the events leading up to and after both coup-d'etats.

Whatever the cover may say about Aristide and the Endless Revolution being a "well-balanced" look into the events surround Aristide's two ousters, this film does not paint the US or France in a favorable light. It suggests, among other things, that the gangs that tore violently through northern Haiti in 2004 were Haitians trained in the Dominican army and armed by the US military. Prior to this, in 1994, almost all foreign aid was cut off from the Haitian government which made it nearly impossible to maintain any kind of stable infrastructure and many people, including members of the United States government, claim that it was this instability that made the 2004 coup possible. Additionally, interim leaders during the coup were linked back to the US CIA. Aristide even describes his flight from Port-au-Prince as a "kidnapping," claiming that US and French officials threatened continued violence and the death of Haitian citizens if the president did not leave the country.

Michel "Sweet Micky" Martelly
was elected president of Haiti in April of 2011

This is all disturbing and puzzling to me. Make no mistake, I love this country. I cannot imagine a better, more privileged life than the one I lead here. Still, I am intensely aware that the US's intervention in the political processes of other struggling countries often results in questionable actions. I know that we have made decisions that have damaged other nations in order to protect our own interests; whether or not this is justified is an ethical dilemma that every US citizen must face.

But regardless of whether or not these allegations are true, the reality is that, until Haiti can internally stabilize it's democratic process and eliminate the influence rebels and gangs pose to the government, it will always be subject to the interests of foreign governments. Though it may be recognized as an independent republic, Haiti continues to be seen by the international community as a broken country.

The real issue here is not aid, it is respect, and I don't know what it will take for Haiti to crawl out of the shadow cast by two centuries of tumult.

Haiti Update!

Thanks so much for supporting and praying for me as I get ready to go to Haiti with Compassion International. It’s such a powerfully humbling feeling when someone believes in the call of God in your life, thank you!

August and September have been filled with alternating waves of excitement and stress as I pull together details for the trip. Occasionally I “forgot” that God has already opened the door for me on this trip and is not going to make me walk through it alone, though it's helpful to remember why I'm going...

(SO EXCITED!)

Nevertheless, I’ve really appreciated your prayers and encouragement.

So, here is the condensed version of the past few months:

Shortly after registering for the trip, I realized that, one, the trip was scheduled after a three day weekend (Veterans’ Day) and, two, there is a Foursquare church in Haiti, that my church supports and, three, that there is a team from my church going to visit Foursquare Haiti early next year (Haiti twice in one year? Yes, please!). I thought that it would be an incredibly opportunity for me to take the extra days to visit the people at the church and lay a foundation for the next trip.

Though this still sounds like a good idea to me, from the beginning, the details have been a nightmare. Haiti has not known for exceptional civil services like public transportation or safety even before the Earthquake. So, even after sending countless emails to Compassion and the coordinator at Foursquare Haiti and even visiting a church that sends teams to Haiti every month, things have still not come together. Worse, it is actually creating more work for the people I am supposed to be serving and I am not comfortable with that.

So, this time around, I’m not going to be visiting the church. I am disappointed but I still feel that this is a better decision, given the circumstances. The good news is that I will be able to really focus on Compassion projects I will be visiting. So, once again, thank you for your prayers, they have come in handy!

I am hoping you might help me once again. Don’t worry, I’m not asking for money! I am hoping that you will be willing to write a letter or card that I could share with a special child that I meet in Haiti. It doesn’t have to be anything spectacular, just a few short lines of love and encouragement, even a pretty card or a drawing would be a huge blessing to them. If you are able to do this, please contact me!

Also, if you are currently a sponsor or are interested in child sponsorship I'd love to hear from you. You can leave me a comment OR visit the For Sponsors section.

Thanks again!

-Sarah Elizabeth

Walk.

Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth.
1 John 3:18

Haiti: Perspective

January 12, 2010, a 7.0 magnitude earthquake struck Haiti.

So what?



Why should we care about the earthquake that happened over a year ago when, since then...

• An 8.8 earthquake hit Chile
• A volcano erupted in Iceland
• Typhoon Megi hit Taiwan
• There was a catastrophic oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico
• A 6.8 magnitude earthquake hit Myanmar on March 18, 2011
• and, of course, an 8.9 magnitude earthquake hit Japan on March 12, 2011

Each of these disasters have been compounded by tsunamis, blackouts, contaminated water, disease, and an ongoing nuclear diaster.

So why still care about Haiti? More importantly, with so much devastation in the world, how can you?

I don't want to play the "who's got it the worst" game. I'm not interested in downplaying the gravity of any of these disasters or the many other disasters that are not listed. I am not going to attempt to place a value on a lost life.

But please don't forget...

This country was the poorest country in the western hemisphere...before the earthquake.

This country suffered from a broken and corrupt justice system...before the earthquake.

This country ranked 149th out of 182 countries for human rights development...before the earthquake.

This country was hit by four back-to-back hurricanes...before the earthquake.

Haiti was in dire need...before the earthquake

Imagine having hemophilia and getting a knife wound, the knife wound is life-threatening itself, but the hemophilia means that you can't heal yourself. Haiti couldn't afford this kind of crippling natural disaster because it doesn't have the tools or infrastructure to rebuild itself.

For years, Haiti has been weakened by poverty, corruption, political upheaval, social injustices, and unthinkable crimes against children. When quake hit, Haiti broke and I don't know how it is going to rebuild itself.


But I know it will.

I know this because the people of Haiti fought for their freedom and then fought for their survival. They are resilient. And I know this because there are millions of  people out there who care about Haiti. I'm hoping that you'll become one of them.

If you'd like to reach out to the people of Haiti, here are some great avenues:

Compassion International
World Vision
Haiti Rising (this is a new one to me!)
Choose Haiti

If you are looking for other ways to help with any of the disasters mentioned in this article, let me first recommend the work of Compassion International and World Vision. In terms of breadth, these two organizations very nearly cover the globe. In terms of depth, there is no greater, more lasting investment you can make than sponsoring a child in poverty.

Aside from these two there are a few other stand-out organizations:

UNICEF (child relief)
USAID (government organization)
Doctors without Borders (medical)
AmeriCares (non government international humanitarian)