As some of you may know, I spent some time a few years back volunteering with the relief effort in Khao Lak, Thailand after the December 26th tsunami. Among the many remarkable people I met during my stay was Tammy Babcock, a Canadian native with the heart of a lion and the mouth of a sailor. After returning home, Tammy decided that she would continue her philanthropic efforts by founding a charity to help the people in the slums on the outskirts of Port Au Prince. For the past couple of years, Help Tammy Help Haiti (http://www.helptammyhelphaiti.com) has been involved in several projects in Cite Soleil, including construction of a water tower that was completed in summer 2009.
I realize that you are probably being bombarded by media reports about the earthquake and solicitations for donations by notable charities like Oxfam, Save the Children, Red Cross, The Clinton Foundation, MSF, and many others. I encourage you to give what you can to those organizations since they are on the ground right now trying to provide immediate relief. But if you are interested in contributing to a small organization, I urge you to consider donating to Tammy's charity. Your donation will go directly to helping the people of Cite Soleil in the rebuilding effort which will take place over next few months and years, on immediate clean-up and rebuilding and on long-term projects such as the medical clinic that Tammy's team was in the process of constructing but whose funds the UN has now understandably withdrawn in order to deal with the current emergency. Donating through the site is simple and even a few dollars will go a long way.
Tammy will be heading to Port Au Prince at the end of January, assuming they have resumed civilian flights, or soon thereafter. Once on the ground, she will be coordinating relief efforts in Cite Soleil. As soon as a volunteer initiative can be organized, I plan on joining Tammy to help in whatever way I can.
For more information and to make a donation, please visit http://www.helptammyhelphaiti.com
Take 'er easy,
Dave
