It was during nap time. I was catching up on the mountain of laundry. Fold, flip, hang. Fold, flip, hang. My mind was half on the news, half on the next item on my to do list. Haiti cried out in anguish, and I felt saddness- but also a disconnect. They were not me, I was not there.
Suddenly, her actions echoed mine, her face trailed with tears.
The camera panned out, and I was crying with pent-up grief for the earthquake ruined-Haiti.
It wasn’t the millions of sound bytes that cut through the static- it wasn’t the thousands of news reports breathlessly covering the devastation.
It was the simple poetry of a woman’s face, hands caring for her family, that brought me to my knees.
She was washing laundry. Sitting in the rubble, crying, talking to her daughter, she was doing the one thing every mother does- whatever she can to make her family feel normal. Her house lay in ruin at her feet, and still she cared for her family in the only way she could amidst utter chaos. At that moment, we were sisters. Her burdens, in a sense, became my own. Her countenance is seared on my brain, and I cannot forget her.
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There are so many ways to help, which is wonderful, but I worry about the long run, when the next tragedy hits and the spot light shifts. I want to help in ways that are sustainable, and donate to charities and ministries that will still focus on and serve Haiti long after the news and multinational organizations have moved on. I’ve linked a ton of different ways in my Google Shared items in the sidebar. I wanted to introduce you to one way that is near to my heart.
Rebecca Sower visited Haiti a few years ago, and was forever changed by what she saw there. She began blogging about what she had seen. Rebecca is an amazing artist; she has inspired me (and many others) over the years with her quiet, elegant, profound way of seeing things that leaves the truth staring right back at you. The way she talked about Haiti was no different. The only reason I really knew anything about Haiti once the newslines blared was because of her quiet honesty over the last few years. She had literally just returned to America from Haiti days before the quake, and a project she had been dreaming about (and blogging about) was suddenly that much more pressing. It’s called Haiti by Hand.
Rebecca tells about it in her own words:
Imagine if you were able to walk right up to a Haitian woman in need and tuck $50 into her weary hand. First of all, you would be giving her enough to feed her family for a long while, or maybe enough to buy fruits and vegetables to start her own business selling in the market, or enough to send her child to school.
This is the driving force behind why I began Haiti By Hand. To bring one American (or European or Australian or Canadian or Russian…) woman directly in touch with one real Haitian woman. To know her story and connect with her. When I was in Haiti just a few days before the quakes, I looked around and realized that I cannot help the nation of Haiti, but I can help one Haitian…and then maybe one more…then one more.
She quickly posted all the art pieces she had brought back from Haiti to a special Etsy store. They sold out. (Each piece was handmade by a Haitian artist- and the money earned goes right back to the Haitian artist.) Soon, other artists joined in, donating pieces to the store for sale. It is blossoming quickly. Please go to Haiti By Hand, and consider what you can do to help.
(Women of Haiti pictures by Rebecca Sower. Used with permission.)
