Anniversary and Award

Sunday marked the first anniversary of my blog!  Never did I imagine when I wrote that inital post that I would still be blogging one year later - and enjoying it!    A great big thank you to all my readers who have supported me and read my blog over the past year.  I appeciate you all.
In the meantime, Lisa at Retro Housewife Goes Green and Deanna at The Well-Groomed Hippie both gave me this award:

Please check out their blogs.  They write blogs that make me happy and, if they hadn't nominated me, I would have sent them this award.

The rules upon receiving this award are:

First, copy the award image in your post.  

Then, list 10 things that make you happy, try to do at least one of them today:

1. Spending time with my husband
2. Watching a movie with my children
3. Having my pets around me
4. Drinking a big glass of iced tea
5. Holding a newborn goat
6. Traveling
7. Being an advocate for people and animals in need
8. Summer-time
9. Connecting with friends - both near and far
10. Enjoying a good book

Next, tag 10 bloggers who brighten your day.   I'm tagging:

• Makeunder My Life
• Bramble Trails
• The Conscious Shopper
• Eco Yogini
• Euro Chic
• The Red Geranium
• Bohemian Season
• Girl on a Bicycle
• Country Pleasures
• Miss Pink Ponsonby's Swell Soiree
• Posted from Home
• Dee's Kitchen

(Ok, I know.  I cheated and tagged 12 - there's just too many to choose from!)  Visit their blogs - I hope they make you happy, too.

Live Green or Die

Please forgive me but this will be a very emotional post as I am an advocate for Haiti and for the environment.

Today I heard that missionaries discovered a fruit tree was cut down at the House of the  Lambs of God Orphanage in Ouanaminthe. This was done by villagers to make cooking charcoal.  In addition, some cassava and sweet potatoes were stolen out of their garden.  Pastor Daniel and his wife run this orphanage where they house over 25 children.  (To the left is a photo of Pastor Daniel, his wife Clynie, and some of their children.)  Pastor Daniel is a college-educated agronomist and has established a garden at the orphanage in order to feed the children and sell the surplus at the market.  The tree was cut down to provide charcoal for cooking.  Since the earthquake, the price of charcoal has skyrocketed.  People are desperate.

I need to provide a bit of background in order for you to understand where I'm heading with this post.  Haiti shares the same island as the Dominican Republic.  Often, both countries are struck by the same tropical storms and hurricanes.  Typically, the D.R. suffers minor damage as a result; Haiti is usually devasatated.  In 2004 and 2008, Haiti was struck by storms that killed thousands, destroyed homes, and created more orphans.  They were still staggering from the results of these storms when the earthquake hit.  Haiti suffers more from the storms because of environmental degradation.  In 1923, 60% of Haiti was forest.  Today, it is less than 2%.  As a result, it is estimated that 15,000 acres of topsoil are washed away each year.  Many efforts have been made to reforest the land.  However, due to the demand for cooking charcoal, the trees don't survive.

This morning I was struck by the thought that Haiti is microcosm of the world.  Many of us in the western world are concerned with the environment and living green.  However, there are also a number of individuals who say we are exagerating our case.  When I look at Haiti, I imagine the nation 80 years ago when it was a lush paradise,  I'm sure its leaders and citizens never envisioned the degradation that ensued over the past few decades.  They simply wanted to live the "Haitian way."

Today the world is dependent upon fossil fuel.  Like charcoal, it is a finite resourse.  Rather than seriously exploring alternative resources, we continue to extract fuel from the earth, even waging wars in order to insure we have our share.  We want to continue to live the "American way."  How is this different than the quest for charcoal?  And why do we believe we will have a better outcome?

Quote for the Day

"Do something for somebody everyday for which you do not get paid."

~Albert Schweitzer

How to Help Haiti Over the Coming Months

Many people have been asking how to help Haiti.  I've seen many sites with a variety of links to aid organizations, especially the Red Cross.  Although the Red Cross is a wonderful organization, I hesitate to recommend it for people who want to ensure their donations go directly to assist the Haitian people.  The reasons are two fold:  1) The Red Cross is a first responder organization.  This means they go in, do triage, then move on to the next disaster.  The Red Cross already has money in it's coffers from past donations.  According to Charity Navigator, the American Red Cross has over $2.5 billion in assets.  Most of the donations now going into the organization will take weeks to process and by the time it makes it's way to the "front line," they will have moved to the next disaster.  2) It is extremely difficult, if not impossible to get supplies into Port-au-Prince at this time.  Commercial flights have been suspended and the port has been damaged to the point that cargo cannot be off-loaded. 

However, there are organizations already on the ground in Haiti, with connections to the Dominican Republic.  An organization with a connection to the Dominican Republic is able to obtain supplies through the "back door"; that is, supplies can be purchased there and brought over land to where it's needed.  Partners in Health, founded by Dr. Paul Farmer, UN's Deputy Special Envoy for Haiti, is one such organization.  On Wednesday, PIH issued the following statement:

"We have already begun to implement a two-part strategy to address the immediate need for emergency medical care in Port-au-Prince. First, we are organizing the logistics to get the medical staff and supplies needed for setting up field hospital sites in Port-au-Prince where we can triage patients, provide emergency care, and send those who need surgery or more complex treatment to our functioning hospitals and surgical facilities. To do this, we are creating a supply chain through the Dominican Republic. Second, we are ensuring that our facilities in the Central Plateau are ready to serve the flow of patients from Port-au-Prince. Operating and procedure rooms are staffed, supplied, and equipped for surgeries and we have converted a church in Cange into a large triage area. Already our sites in Cange, Belladeres and Hinche are reporting a steady flow of people coming with medical needs from the capital city. In the days that come we will need to make sure our pharmacies and supplies stay stocked and our staff continue to be able to respond. Currently, our greatest need is financial support"

Another organization, Danita's Children, located in the border town of Ouanaminthe, Haiti, next to Dajabon, D.R., is mobilizing to receive additional orphans.  This organization needs financial assistance to allow them to make room for these children.  Their location on the border and their 10 year relationship with the officials in both countries allows them access to clean drinking water, food, clothing, and medical supplies necessary to care for the orphans.

Both Partners in Health and Danita's Children are efficiently run, reliable organizations that have received four stars from Charity Navigator, the highest rating.  I highly recommend these organizations for individuals looking fo a way to make a difference in the lives of Haitian people.

Greening Valentine's Day

Lisa at Retro Housewife Goes Green is hosting this month's APLS Green Carnival.  The topic is how to green Valentine's Day.  How I green Valentine's day won't appeal to everyone. 

My huband and I have been married for almost 22 years (our anniversary is right after Valentine's Day).  I was fortunate to have married my best friend and the love of my life.  We not only love one another, we are still in love.  (Sorry to get so mushy!)  The first few years of our marriage, it was almost torture for my husband to find a gift for me.  He would agonize over what to get me and then run out at the last minute and *settle* on something he thought I would like.  Sorry to say, it was hit or miss.  Sometimes I liked and/or wanted the gift, other times not.  One year it dawned on me what a waste it all was.  So that year, for our Valentine's Day/anniversary, I gave him his gift ahead of time.  My gift?  I told him he was relieved of the burden of buying anything for me.  We've continued this practice for other special dates and we've never been disappointed. 

Not to say that we're Scooge's.  When one of us actually needs or wants something that is within our means, we make sure to get it (sometimes as a gift).  It just seemed that the stress and the waste was pointless.  Occasionally, we'll go out to eat but not always.  We try to focus on the relationship rather than the *stuff* and that seems to work for us.

So, our solution seems green in many ways:  there's no wrapping paper issue; no toxins used in raising flowers; no fuel consumed to ship goods; no need to worry about chocolate harvested by slave labor.  It might not work for everyone, but it works for us.

For those who feel the need to exchange gifts, I suggest a return to the 19th century tradition of exchanging handwritten notes and cards.  Those who have a sweet tooth, can bake their own treats for loved ones.  Two very green practices.

Update

Just a quick update on the earthquake in Haiti.  First of all, thank you to everyone who inquired about friends living there.  We have heard that everyone in Ouanaminthe, which is 9 hours from Port-au-Prince, is fine.  The missionaries at Danita's Children were able to contact Pastor Alteese and he, his children, and staff members are fine.  However, many of those living in Ouanaminthe have friends and family in the capitol.  Pastor Daniel has a brother-in-law who went there to purchase books for the school; Pastor Alteese, whose wife passed away about eight months ago, has a son living there.  They have not heard from their loved ones and pray for the best.  It seems no one in Haiti is untouched by this catastrophe. 

Despite this grim situation, a little light shines.  The world has once again come together during a time of tragedy.  To quote my church's motto, "Love Wins."  

Neighbors

Imagine a population the size of New York City in a depression worse than the Great Depression.  So bad, in fact, that unemployment records are not kept; estimates put it at 90%.  Then imagine the city is below sea level, and the levees break.  On top of that imagine an earthquake comparable to the one that struck San Francisco in 1906.  This is essentially what has happened to Haiti. 

Haiti is a desperately poor nation; most live on less than $400 a year.  It's the poorest nation in the western hemisphere.  There is very little infrastructure in the country; what little existed was in Port-au-Prince.  Most Haitians do not have access to clean drinking water, sanitation, medical facilities, or emergency services.  In 2008, the island was devastated by four hurricanes that struck back-to-back.  Now this. 

The news this morning is chilling.  The above photos are the before and after pictures of the presidential palace.  According to CNN, most of Port-au-Prince has been leveled and the death toll is expected to be in the thousands.  The building housing the U.N. workers has collapsed.  In the best of times, the capitol barely functions (and then mainly for the elite who live there).  Haiti is our neighbor and it needs help.  Many NGOs (nongovernmental organizations) have plans underway to deploy aid workers to assist in this catastrophe.  For those of you who are able to help, I urge you to do some research, and locate a worthy organization to assist in the rescue and recovery efforts.  The Haitians are, after all, our neighbors.

For those of you familiar with my connection with Haiti, I've heard from one of the missionaries at Danita's Children (located on the north east corner of the nation).  Everyone at the orphanage and school are fine and the surrounding neighborhood seemed unaffected.  In addition, another missionary has spoken with Pastor Daniel Paul at The House of the Lambs of God Orphanage and all is well there.  We are still waiting to hear about Pastor Altese at the other ophanage in Ouanaminthe.  I'll keep you posted.