Final Preparations

Trip Start Jun 19, 2009
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4
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Trip End Jun 27, 2009


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(Grand Rapids hotels)

Flag of United States  , Michigan,
Friday, June 19, 2009

"How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world. " ~Anne Frank

Tonight is my final night before leaving for Haiti.  This week has been a flurry or preparation and errands.  Apparently I was so laid back about this trip that I forgot how much it actually takes to get ready.  (Squeezing that much stuff into a carry-on takes a lot of strategic planning!)  Our bad news this week is the food is very scarce there.  All the food the group will need for 8 days must be packed in our luggage.  I think we will all be very creative by weeks end!  Below are some statistics concerning the current situation there:

  • The government is not able to provide the resources to educate the nation's next generation Food
    Food
         .

  • The unemployment rate is over 80%.

  • More than half of Haitians live on less than a dollar a day.

  • There are few paved roads, an inadequate supply of potable water, minimal utilities, and depleted forests.

  • About 60% of the population lives in abject poverty.

  • Less than 20% of Haitians age 15 and over can read and write.

  • Fewer than 75% of children attend school.

  • 40% of the Haitian population does not have access to primary health care.

  • The United Nations estimates 6% of Haitians are infected with HIV/AIDS. The highest rate in the Western Hemisphere. An estimated 30,000 people die of AIDS every year.

  • One in twenty Haitians is infected with HIV/AIDS and there are over 150,000 AIDS orphans.


Shocking isn't it!  What's more amazing is we go to help them, but they really help us.  Our faith is deepened, our resolve strengthened, our volunteerism renewed!  Whether we reach out here or abroad we can make a difference.
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