…but if you like FREE music, be sure to come back!

Right now, right where you are…

Sitting under a plastic tarp…

A terrible downpour…

You’re wet.  Your family is wet…

The little that you have is wet…

…and that tarp is your shelter for the next few months.

That is the shelter that is proposed until May 1st for about 250,000 Haitians.  I don’t know about you, but that just seems wrong.

From an MSNBC article:

Haiti’s homeless get tarps, want tents
Aid agencies tell quake refugees they’ll need to get by with plastic sheets

…

Instead the officials are mobilizing a plan they call the “shelter surge:”

- By May 1, one plastic tarp will be given to each of about 250,000 displaced families.
- Transitional shelters of 194 square feet, with corrugated iron roofs, will then be built.
- Shelters will have earthquake- and storm-resistant frames of timber or steel and are supposed to last for three years.

…

[Further details on this YouTube video.]

I’m sure there may be a logistic rationale for this, in reading several other articles, the general consensus of relief organizations is that tents take up too much room, but still – a tarp for someone who lost everything they owned?  And for upwards of three to four months?

It blows my mind…I’m sure it does yours as well.

Tents are needed – good quality, waterproof tents.

There are many non-governmental organizations working to address this need, but one that I’d encourage you to support is aHomeInHaiti.org, organized by Atlanta pastor Shaun King [featured in a Huffington Post article Tuesday].

From the aHomeInHaiti.org site, you can purchase approved, waterproof tents ranging from $55 to $800 directly from Amazon.com, have them shipped to Pastor King’s church in Atlanta, and ultimately shipped to teams he is working with in Haiti.  You can also donate cash via  the site/PayPal.

A tarp for shelter for the next few months?  It’s just wrong!

DO IT!

“Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute.  Speak up and judge fairly;  defend the rights of the poor and needy.”

Proverbs 31:8-9

The images below were taken throughout my day – at home, work, wherever. In most cases, the caption below the image tells the story.  I had fun taking them – hope they give you some semblance of what my January 15, 2009 was like.

If you click this link, you can see the Twitter hashtag traffic for #50pic Friday.  Some of the newer entries have links for compiled, #50pic posts from those who participated.  Check’em out!

BTW, next time this comes around…consider joining.  It’s fun!

Dennis

- Wisdom from King Lemuel’s mom (Proverbs 31:8-9)

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I’s basic: Water.

Yet, we often take it for granted.  I know I do.

In fact, the average American uses 150 gallons of water a day.

Yep, it’s basic.

But:

• 1.1 billion people on the planet don’t have access to safe, clean drinking water. (That’s 1 in 6 people in the world).
• Those people often walk more than three hours each day to get water that is likely to make them sick.
• The average person in a developing nation struggles to find 5 gallons of water.

That’s flat out wrong.

One organization trying to address this is Charity: Water – a non-profit organization bringing clean, safe drinking water to people in developing nations:

OK, so if that doesn’t bring it home, this should:

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Consider supporting Charity: Water.  100% of all contributions go to projects, not administrative costs.

It’s mind blowing, but $20 can give one person clean, safe drinking water for 20 years.

It’s basic: Water.

Let’s listen to King Lemuel’s mom…

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Statistics source: Charity: Water