E-mail after e-mail comes to me with the same theme… “What can I do to help?” Yesterday, in our endless quest for practical information and in our numerous correspondences, we exceeded our fair access policy for HughesNet, which means we will be out of commission for today after 7:00AM, and yet everyone wants to hear from us, wants to know what they can do, etc. That’s a good thing, knowing that we aren’t forgotten down here on our island, but it is also a tremendous responsibility.

I’ve seen so much waste living in Haiti since 2002. Everyone has their project that they want to support, but few of the projects are very good. Unknown to many Americans, their money is being used in ways they would never approve of. Right now, individuals all over Haiti are gathering supplies from Americans that will never make it to the victims in Port. I shouldn’t say that. A percentage of the supplies will make it, so that there can be some photo ops, but the rest will be used by people who were so far from the quake that they barely felt it. It is the sad reality of life in Haiti. Many pastors will use a stockpile of supplies as leverage against their community, causing everyone to depend on them for handouts and then using that power to become a political mover and shaker. If you are reading this post, please carefully consider these words.

If you want to make an impact, look at these pages: http://www.redcross.org, http://www.cidi.org/incident/haiti-10a/. Here are groups that know what to do, have the staff to make an immediate impact, and are already on the move to make that impact. Give them money. Give them blood. If you want to make an immediate difference, go do it immediately. They say the first ten days are the most important as far as saving lives is concerned, so don’t hesitate.

Don’t feel bad if you are a Christian group that you can’t find a Christian charity to give to that can make the impact the Red Cross or those associated with the Center for International Disaster Information can make. Look for groups that have the skills needed to make an immediate impact in Haiti and support them.

Remember 9/11 and Katrina, how scores of firefighters, policemen, and military personnel made an impact. Well, those kinds of personnel are needed in Haiti right now. If you are a police officer, for example, get eleven other officers together, or a combination of police, firefighters and doctors, get the permissions needed, get the support of your local church, and get down here. If you are an average Joe (like me), find out which skilled personnel from your area are coming to Haiti (or go put the idea in their heads) and get your church to buy the tickets, to purchase the tents and water filters they are going to need to live, etc. Contact me and I’ll set you up with translators. I might even be your translator if my dear wife approves. Contact Agape flights or Missionary Flights International and see if they can supply your group while the team is here. Send a representative from your church along, too. These are the kinds of immediate impact things that we need in these crucial first two weeks.

The question is, can the United States mobilize for Haiti the way it did for New York and New Orleans. I don’t think the “can” part is in question. It’s just a matter of willingness. Canada, Great Britain, and all of you other English speaking nations, you may be further away, but don’t use that as an excuse. Send your best trained personnel to Haiti to save lives. China already did, and they arrived last night with dogs, and all the supplies they need.

We have our own set of problems up here. It’s been raining for two weeks straight, and now our river is flooding. We have a displaced family living in our guest room right now. Also, there are reports that the quake cracked our bridge across the Haut-du-Cap River. This fact (if confirmed) effectively seals us off from the Northeast, our supply route when Port is out of commission. If the floods recede, we will be able to find our way on back roads, but if the UN or someone doesn’t act quickly, we could be in for a humanitarian crisis of our own here in the north. My supply run yesterday should minimize the affects on us, but when everyone around you suffers, it’s hard to just ignore it.

I’m also wondering if the money is going to dry up in the north. Our banks are all closed. In a country like ours, I don’t know if banks can survive losing their headquarters, main branches, and executive staffs. We may be in for shortages of all kinds. Only the drug dealers, with their stashes of hard cash, will be immune.