Your Answer Regarding Pictures of the Goats

I know that HH4H does not usually provide pictures of packages and goats. There are several reasons for this. The first reason is that there is not a staff person with a camera. The volunteer group from the US goes to Haiti twice a year. It is at this time that they take the annual photos of the children. Danda children are the children that are photographed in the fall (usually). Also, it is not a good idea to draw attention to things being given out as it may cause a riot. I don't know about you, but I would rather have my child safe.

I did ask Jamie if there was a way that they would be able to get some pictures of our children with their goats. They are going to Haiti in March. I know pictures mean a lot, especially when you are giving something (to show that the child received it). We are all used to the CI way, and it is hard to think of sending things and not getting a picture. However, you should be able to find out from your child in a letter that they did receive whatever items you sent.

Here is my question to Jamie:

"I forgot where you all are going in March. I am thinking you told me that Danda is in the fall, right? I hope I am wrong. I am planning the goat fundraiser, and I know these sponsors would really like pictures. If you were going to Danda in March, I would ask if you could take pictures of the families with their goats that we bought. Just let me know if it is even possible so that I can let the group know. I know there is no photographer on staff."

Here is Jamie's detailed reply:

"The Danda children are usually updated in the fall but we usually go out there every time we go to Haiti , even if we don’t need to update all the children. There were some in Danda who were absent last time so we need to try to update them this time so their sponsors won’t have to go 2 years without new info. BUT (and that’s a big but – no pun intended!) I can’t ever promise photos of anything. We will do the best we can to get them and if it works out we’ll be happy to do it. But we’re talking about Haiti here and we always have to figure in the unexpected. There’s always the possibility that something could happen and we wouldn’t be able to get out there. Danda is in a very remote area and the road to get out there is extremely rugged. So it’s not out of the realm of possibility that we might not be able to get out there on that road. Even if we do get out there, there’s always the possibility that the families (or some of the families) might not show up with their goats. Again, we can try to make the necessary arrangements but we’re not entirely in control over what happens on the Haitian end of things. Pastor Elima is very understanding and cooperative but I can’t guarantee that all the families would be there. So the best I can promise is that we will make the appropriate arrangements and if Pastor Elima can communicate with the families and get them to come with their goats, we’ll photograph whoever is there. Sound fair?"

I then, asked if we could have it where the goats were distributed when the staff goes in March. I mentioned asking the families to come to the church, and then, the goats could be distributed there & photographed. This was her answer:

"I have no idea how the goats are normally distributed to the families. Pastor Elima did not give us that information. But I’m not sure having them all come and get them when we’re there would be the appropriate thing to do. It’s usually not a good idea for Americans to be seen giving out anything so we try not to get involved when things are distributed. (And it’s never a good idea to draw attention to something being given out when you’re in Haiti . It’s actually a good way to start a riot.) We’d rather have the people actually receive things from their pastors even though they know that he is just passing along a gift from someone else. We do not want to take away from his role as the person people go to for help even though they know he’s actually receiving the help from us and that we’re actually receiving it from someone else. Does that make sense?"

I know it is hard for us to imagine how it must be in Haiti, and fully understand these issues. I do recommend that if you like to read, pick up the book I mentioned earlier. "On That Day Everyone Ate" is an eye-opening look into Haitian life, and how it contrasts with ours.

There are still Danda children in need of sponsors, and any of them can be included in the fundraiser for a goat. I hope that the wish for photos and possibly not getting them won't deter you from helping a family who has so little.

Henry's Fall Package

You may remember my other posts regarding the packages I sent for my CI kids. I sent the packages months ago. Henry's thank you & pics just came in the mail a few days ago. He is the last one to get his package. It is so nice to know that there is already another package on its way to him. He was included in the Colombia package. Since I wasn't able to send him a Christmas package, I am hoping the summer reading package will make up for it :o)

I can't wait to see everyone's pics & thank yous!!!

Since I didn't get an objection from any one about bumping up the deadlines, here are the new deadlines to order according to country:

Dominican Republic & Chile~ 1/22/10
Guayaquil, Ecuador & Honduras~ 2/5/10
Guatemala & Mexico~ 2/19/10
Philippines~ 2/26/10

The new ship dates are:
Dominican Republic & Chile~ 2/3/10
Guayaquil, Ecuador & Honduras~ 2/15/10
Guatemala & Mexico~ 3/1/10
Philippines~ 3/10/10

Kids Can Change the World

My youngest daughter turned 3 yesterday, and we had her party today (my birthday is the same day, but we won't talk about that *wink*). She had a Princess and the Frog party. Family and friends all came to celebrate with us. It is always fun to celebrate a life!

For those few short hours, as I rushed around to set up the games & make everyone happy, the world was perfect. Every one ate the food I fixed, plus cake and ice cream afterwards. Morgan opened a mountain of presents and tossed each item to the side after she pulled it out. It was raining outside, but it didn't matter because we were dry and warm completely covered from the elements inside a sturdy brick home with all of the amenities.

It is so easy, as we go about our lives doing the things we do, to forget about those "other" people. They are not there where we can see them. If they were, I imagine we would do things differently. Right? I mean how could we throw away food and indulge in all of these excesses if the children who hadn't eaten in days were watching us?

That is why, though I don't have much (by US standards), I am constantly moved to help. I have to remind myself of those children. The fundraisers give a great reminder of the needs of some of our families. I, also, am moved to read books that open my eyes to what is going on in the rest of the world.

Haiti being the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, and now suffering more than we can even imagine since the earthquake, has been my book focus this month. If you want to read about the people of Haiti and one woman's passion to feed the people, even when the task looks so big it is impossible, check out the book I am reading now:
"On That Day Everyone Ate: One Woman's Story of Hope and Possibility in Haiti" by Margaret Trost
Another eye-opening book about Haiti involved the enslavement of the Haitian children. It is estimated that 300,000 Haitian children are slaves (known as restavecs). Jean-Robert Cadet wrote a book about his life as a restavec. You can find my post about that here

To bring this party to a helping the world type of ending, I will tell you what we did. About 2 years ago, I started a children's philanthropy organization called "Kids Can Change the World" (it came before Make a Change). The idea behind KCCW is that children learn how great it feels to help others. We do projects to benefit those is need. In 2008, while it was just getting started (and only my two girls in the group), we made gift bags for Christmas. You can see the post here. With Haiti needed the most help right now, our organization will be doing a benefit for them. While still at the party, I spoke with some of the children to see if they would like to join us in our plight to help Haiti. I was able to get 3 more helpers!

If our organization is approved for the "party", Hasbro will be sending us a box of board games. The children will go around collecting pledges from people for a "playathon". They will get $X (whatever the person pledges) for every 15 minutes they spend playing a game. The party will go on for about 2 or 3 hours, and then, the children will go back to collect the funds from what was pledged. The money will go to help Haiti's orphans (for those who know this organization, the money is going to S.O.S. Children's Villages in Haiti). It should be a very exciting time for all. It will happen some time at the end of February or beginning of March. I will keep everyone posted!

By the way, only one of the Danda children that I posted yesterday now has a sponsor. That means there are more than 15 left waiting. Check out yesterday's post to see who is left. Remember to let me know who you choose, as we will be doing a special project for the Danda children later this week.

Letters from Jim's girls

Mack wrote:
"Jim recently received letters from both of his sponsored girls. Once again, Katherine's mother has written an interesting and detailed account of her daughter's life. Hopefully, Katherine's letters will be just as animated when she begins writing herself!

The photos show Nicti of Guatemala, just after her 5th birthday. She is the little girl that Mack would have been visiting next Monday, had her trip not been canceled."

Help for Haiti Part 6

Jolanda Geffrad, age 7

Dalinx Bernadin, age 11

Djouvensly Joseph, age 7

Ansley-Donald Louis, age 5

Eneitgh Charles, age 6

Wilkenson Lazarre, age 6

Luckenson Nicolas, age 7

Johnverly Alexis, age 8

Fiselande Jean, age 9

Julnise Jean, age 9

Wilgens Cador, age 9

Rica Francois, age 10

Dalandy Geffrad, age 11

Fadelin Louis, age 11

Chedeline Joseph, age 12

Gregory Daniel, age 13

Fritznel Blaise, age 14
*pictures removed because most of them now have sponsors!!

All of the children shown above attend school in Danda. Today I am looking for sponsors especially for the children of Danda. Some time next week, I will be launching the plan for those who do take on children from Danda.

The Danda program through His Hands for Haiti began in October 2006. According to their web-site, 71 children were added to the sponsorship program at that time. There are currently approximately 300 children attending the primary school there now.

This is taken directly from their web-site, and gives you more information about the special children of Danda, and what their community is like:

"Danda (which means "Silly People") is a small community of approximately 1,000 people 18 kilometers from Terrier Rouge in a very remote, very rural area that feels like the end of the earth. There are 14 smaller "habitations" in the area surrounding Danda and the combined population of all these areas is approximately 4,000 to 5,000 people.

Because Danda is a very rural area, most of the people survive as subsistence farmers. Pastor Elima arranges for agronomists to come to Danda twice a year to help instruct the people on more modern and successful ways of growing their own food.

Another one of the ministries of the Danda Baptist Church is their clinic. This clinic, which has been operating for 10 years, is open to see patients Monday through Friday, with 3 nurses, a lab technician, pharmacists, and other support staff including someone from the church to counsel and pray with any patients who wish to have this type of assistance. Because this clinic is the only health care facility in the area, they see approximately 60 patients a day which helps make the clinic fully self-supported."

Now, I would like to add a little bit to what you just read. It is estimated that in Haiti, there is 1 doctor for every 10,000 people!!! In the US, it is approximately 1 doctor to every 350! How cool is it that the people in Danda have been provided with a clinic!? Considering the statistics, they are very fortunate to have this service.

Also, because they are farmers, they are able to grow their own food! How cool is it that they have agronomists that come to help the farmers twice a year to make their crops more successful?! The, also have a mill where the families can take their corn to be ground into cornmeal!

Here is the super-awesome thing that I have planned for next week. Once every one has a chance to grab a child from Danda, send me an e-mail letting me know who you chose. I will get a list of all of the Danda children sponsored by people in our group. THEN, I have some items that were donated (and just arrived today!) to be sold. The person who donated the items would like to proceeds to help the children in Haiti. I will set up the items for sell. The proceeds of the sell will go to provide each Danda family our group sponsors with a goat!!!

The goat will provide the families with security. How? Well, they can sell the milk, cheese, and other items that come from their goat. They can, also, feed their own families!! Plus, the babies will provide continued income, food, and a sense of prosperity.

The program, unfortunately, is only offered in Danda, so that is why I am being community specific with this plan.

Take a look at the children, and let me know which ones you choose/have already chosen in Danda. They will then be put on the list to get a goat!

Once your child is chosen, send an e-mail to jamie@hishandsforhaiti.org

Last Day to Order for Chile & Dominican Republic

Today is the last day to place your order for Chile and the Dominican Republic. Also, if you have already ordered and would like to send a letter to your child, send that today.

I received a question yesterday about how these summer reading packages are spread out. This person was requesting that I send the package out sooner than what I stated. I spread them out to help you all. I thought having one go out every two weeks or so would make it so that you could order for one child on one pay check and another child on a different pay check. However, I do already have a lot of orders for the rest of the countries. My question is to those who are participating in this event: Would you like me to pull the dates together and send them out sooner? It really works better for me to do them closer together, but I just want to make sure that everyone would be able to participate this way. Here are the deadlines that were set before to get in your order:

Dominican Republic & Chile~ 1/22/10
Ecuador~ 2/5/10 (a small package to Guayaquil- we will see what customs does with it)
Guatemala~ 2/19/10
Philippines~ 3/5/10
Mexico~ 3/19/10
Honduras~ 3/26/10

Here are the proposed deadlines:
Dominican Republic & Chile~ 1/22/10
Guayaquil, Ecuador & Honduras~ 2/5/10
Guatemala & Mexico~ 2/19/10
Philippines~ 2/26/10

If we do it this way, the new ship dates would be:
Dominican Republic & Chile~ 2/3/10
Guayaquil, Ecuador & Honduras~ 2/15/10
Guatemala & Mexico~ 3/1/10
Philippines~ 3/10/10

Let me know if this works for all of you. If it does, that we will do it the new way- Packages will go out sooner, and pictures and thank yous will come back sooner.

Also, I need to find out from those of you who send direct packages: Does Chile have just one address that packages are shipped to? What about the Philippines? The address I have seen to the Philippines says "Quezon City". Is that where all of you ship, and then the packages are sent to the appropriate community center? I am hoping there is just one address for these, but since I do not sponsor there, I am clueless.

Also, remember that the princess dolls are still available. I have about 10 left I believe. Every sell adds $8 to our fundraisers!! To order items for the Summer Reading Packages, click here
Thanks in advance for your feedback!

How you can help

To help Yamileisy and Jose Manuel, click here

To help Carla, click here

To help Michelle, click here

Eveline Germain is in need of a sponsor. She is 8 years old and attends the preschool class in Danda. She has 1 brother & 6 sisters. She needs a very special sponsor. Details below...

I decided to break down and make my "How you can help" post. With all that is going on, I could use all of the help I can get! So here are some ways you can help. Depending on what works for you and how much time you have, here are the things that are needed:

1. There are 3 fundraisers currently. There are so many ways to help with those:

a. Donate to the fundraisers.

b. Add a link to the fundraisers on the signature line of your e-mails to family, friends, coworkers, etc. You would be surprised at how many people will say, "Hey, I saw your link, what is it about?" You have now opened a discussion for fundraisers & new sponsorships!

c. Add a fundraiser link to your social networking sites: Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, Blogger, Google & Yahoo Groups, among others.

2. I need someone that can do up some FirstGiving pages for me for our upcoming fundraisers. This can be done in whatever spare time you have. Once you figure out the site, the whole process shouldn't take more than 15 minutes per page. I will have a little under 20 pages that need to be set up between now and March. If that is something you can help with, please contact me for start up details.

3. The little girl shown above, Eveline Germain is in need of a special sponsor. She is in the HH4H program and recently lost her sponsor. The HH4H crew is concerned about her health, so they do not want her to be without a sponsor. She remains small, even though she has gotten older. This is why the crew is concerned. If you have space in your heart for this little girl, please send an e-mail to Jamie at jamie@hishandsforhaiti.org

4. I am starting another group called MIC- Mothers Inspiring Change. This group will be based on the whole IGP process that we have done for our families through the fundraisers. The difference is that this group will partner with a group of mothers to provide them with a business. The business will provide income for 15+ mothers and their families (there are 15 mothers right now ready to get started, but we will probably have more mothers total in the business by the time it starts). How can you help? I need someone who has set up web-sites before to put together a web site for this group. It will be similar to the one we have for the MAC group. Someone with experience in IGP's and east africa is preferred but not necessary. If you can provide this service, please contact me for start up info.

5. You can donate items to raffle/ sell in the web store that can provide money for our fundraisers. Sara S is a good example of this- She provided 25 barbie-like dolls that have already provided over $100 to the fundraisers! There are still dolls she donated that are waiting to be bought, so after all of them sell, she will have given $200 to the fundraisers!! Donations should be mailed to: Make a Change, c/o Heather McLaughlin, P O Box 847, Anna, TX 75409

I am going to go ahead and post this, so that you can see what is needed. I may have some more things to add about helping later, so I will put those in a new post if that happens.

Please keep me posted about Eveline Germain, as well, so that I know when she has a sponsor. Thanks!!!

By the way, of those who have children in the HH4H program, do any of you have children in Danda? If so, send me an e-mail. There is another special project in the works for the Danda children.

Brayan & His Family~ AKA Extreme Makeover: Home Edition

A weight has been lifted for Brayan and his family. Thanks to some great people in this group, his mother will now have a business!

As stated before, his family is completely without funds. His child report stated $0 for the income. They were, also, being told they needed to get out of the home. The home is owned by Marlen's first husband, and he was ready to put Marlen and the two boys out on the street!

$540 was raised to give Marlen a business selling socks, underwear, t-shirts, pants, imitation jewelry, etc + a cart to move the items around in. This is a business that can not start soon enough! To make this happen, some strings & special circumstance approvals have been made- Brayan and his family will have the items they need to start the business today!!

Since they are, also, losing the roof over their heads, they will need to look for a new place to live. An anonymous donation was made to help them get a start on rent for a new home. $200 will give them shelter for a little while. That means that Marlen and her boys can look for a home & move today!!!

I know it is just unbelievable- What was such a scary situation has now been turned into a dream come true for Marlen. I wish I could be there to see the look on Marlen's face when the news is delivered. I imagine something like the faces of the people on Extreme Makeover: Home Edition. Have you ever watched that? You know when they start chanting, "Move that bus!" The bus finally moves and the family collapses in tears of joy and screams! What a sense of relief she will feel when she knows that she will have a home & a business! Wow!

I can not thank you all enough- You all made this happen, & you have saved a family from homelessness, hunger, and despair! You all are the best!!!

Letters from Mack's boys

Wilson (above) and his letter (below)

Jon (above) and his letter (below)

Mack wrote:
"Here are the two letters I got from Jonathan and Wilson after they received their musical Christmas cards. I sent them packages quite a bit earlier, but I guess the cards arrived first."

Summer Reading Package~ Zambia

The box, weighing in at 13 pounds 7 ounces!!! (above) & items for Dana's child Christopher (below)

Items for Sara S's child Sitiwe (above) & Sara S's child Costa (below)

Items for Sarah's child Peter (above) & Sarah's child Mercy (below)

Items for Mack's child Mercy (above) & Chrystal's child Beauty (below)

Items for Heather's child Mwanza (above) & Barbara's child Nsenzeni (below)

Ok- Whew! I have to start by saying this: For those of you who have e-mailed me these last few days, I will get to your e-mails, I promise! Just today, so far, I have received 176 e-mails! I guess it is because we have so much going on right now with the fundraisers, packages, the new group being created MIC, and sponsorships. Chaotic is not even the word for it. I want to make sure that all of you know that your e-mails, and support mean the world to me! I am not ignoring you, just incredible in over my head- LOL!!!

I still need to let you all know how you can help. I was supposed to be writing a post about that soon, but have been too busy with the other stuff to type it up.

Some good news:

1. The second shipment of Disney dolls from Sara S arrived just now. Thank you so much for donating those for us!

2. Brayan's emergency fundraiser funded just a few minutes ago with the last donation coming from Bernie! Thank you, every wonderful person who helped!!!

3. More sponsors have been found for the Haitian children! I am so happy for them!!

4. The last book that was needed for the Zambia package arrived at 2:30PM...

Once the last book arrived, I got busy photographing and boxing everything up. I was trying to get everything packed up to ship it out before the post office closed at 4:30PM. That was a very crazy idea. I should have slowed down and just packed it up to ship it tomorrow. Hindsight is 20/20 they say. I have always just done it all from home & had it picked up by the post office.

I tried to do a stupid thing- Help my local post office with their employee hours. I was so focused on making sure they got credit for the sale, that I made myself crazy. So, won't get into that, but I will just know for next time- I am doing it from home. That way I can figure out the most cost-effective way to ship the items...

All of that being said, I am very tired, but I am glad the package is on its way to Zambia. Because of my bad method of shipment (not doing it from home and thinking it through), the shipping was $87.55!!! The package weighed 13 pounds 7 ounces!!! No extra funds for the fundraisers. I had to come out of pocket for this one, but it was my fault.

For those keeping track, mark this day on your calendar- Zambia packages shipped right on schedule! 1/20/10!

**Last note- please pay close attention to the order due dates for all of the countries. The DR & Chile is due by Friday. I won't be able to make exceptions on this any more- The reason for this is that once the items are in the box, they are on their way, and there is no way to make changes. It is better to order by the due date, and still have a couple of days to add letters or any changes. Sorry, guys!

Summer Reading Packages Update

I am still packing up items for the summer reading program. It has kept me quite busy. Especially, since the Zambia package will be going out in a matter of days. I am only waiting on one more book to arrive, and then, I will be done with the Zambia box. The book should arrive today. Once I get it, I will take a picture of the contents of each individual package like I did before for the Colombia packages.

The pictures above are just some of the packages waiting to be shipped. Some people are ordering items little by little from the web store, and I am adding them to the packages as the orders come in. The pictures above do not include the packs that are going to Zambia! These are just the ones going to the rest of the countries as the due date comes up. I have them separated by country in boxes. As I saw the orders pile up, I thought it would be cool to see what they look like all together. Of course, there are, also, a couple for the other countries that I am waiting for the books for, so those packs are not included in the pictures either.

Now, your friendly reminder- Friday, THIS Friday is the deadline for orders to Chile & the Dominican Republic. There were a few people who said they wanted Chile added to the program, but there aren't very many orders for that country- In fact, only one person has ordered for that country so far. Hopefully, the other orders are coming, so that we will have enough money for shipping.

So, don't forget January 22 is the deadline for Chile & the Dominican Republic. (and the Zambia package will be going out probably Thursday!) To order, go to the web store

To recap, here are the deadlines to order for each country:

Dominican Republic & Chile~ 1/22/10
Ecuador~ 2/5/10 (a small package to Guayaquil only- we will see what customs does with it)
Guatemala~ 2/19/10
Philippines~ 3/5/10
Mexico~ 3/19/10
Honduras~ 3/26/10

After Shock of 6.1!! Help for Haiti Part 5

Chedeline Joseph, turning 13 on Feb 28

Gregory Daniel, age 13

Sannedie Robert, age 13

Rose Flavie Jean, age 13

Myrdeline Seraphin, age 13

Jean Claude Milor, age 13

Davidson Jean Louis, age 14

Patrick Lindore, age 14

Fritznel Blaise, age 14

Alix Joseph, age 15

Manoucheka Riche, age 15

Walky Alexis (2), age 15

Francise Charles Pierre, age 16

Andrice Cetoute, age 16

Fritslin Mutil, age 16

Gerald Joseph, age 17

Wildophson Jean, age 17

Bionise Francois, age 18

*Pictures removed because most of the children now have sponsors!!

To add insult to injury, this morning Haiti was hit by an after shock. The after shock registered at 6.1!!! Since it just happened, it is hard to know how much more damage was added to the city of Port-au-Prince, and how many more injuries were incurred. They will be showing that on the news today, I am sure. I can't imagine how scared the people let alone the children must be to have it happen again while they are still trying to get help!! Please keep the people of Haiti in your prayers. This is only the first after shock, and there are usually several after an earthquake. I can only hope that the after shock made some of the buildings shift enough to allow for the rescue of more people that have been trapped for over a week.

His Hands for Haiti still has several children that need sponsors for this school year. These children do not live in Port-au-Prince. They live in the northern end of Haiti, close to Cap-Haitian. It is believed that as more and more people and supplies pour in to help the earthquake damaged city of Port-au-Prince, less help will go to the northern end of the country.

There are so many people to help now that have been injured and left homeless by the earthquake. It is going to take a long time to recover. Children have lost their parents and homes. Some of the orphans are being sent to the northern end of Haiti, so we may see even more children in need of sponsors within the next few months.

The children I have included in this post are the teenagers of the bunch. None of these children go to the schools in Terrier Rouge. I have sifted through the bios to select children that are more likely to correspond with their sponsors. If you can help one or more of these children, send an e-mail to jamie@hishandsforhaiti.org Put the name of the child in the subject line of your e-mail. State your intention to sponsor child "x", and she will get back with you about payment instructions (and let you know if the child is still available). I have, also, gone through my previous 4 posts and removed the children that have found sponsors. There are still several children in each post in need of sponsors, so go back and check them out.

Your donation is tax deductible, and HH4H is a 100% volunteer organization- That means, all of the money you donate goes to the kids!!

Emergency Fundraiser #4 Update!

Brayan's updated picture came this morning! To give an update to his fundraiser, we now have $165 raised- only $375 to go!! To donate, click here

The Disney Pricess dolls are still available as well- a total of 14 dolls. Every doll adds $8 to the fundraiser! To purchase one of the dolls, go here

The sticker books are, also, available on the web store. Every sticker book sold adds $5 to the fundraiser!

I know I am really being pushy this time. Even with all we have been through on these fundraisers, with sick children, and others really needing help... I have just never seen an income be at $0 before. It stresses me out. I think about what it would be like for me and my family to have no income... not one cent! What would we eat? How would we pay for soap to wash ourselves & our clothes? I mean, really, what would WE do?

Thank you, Chrystal, Dee, Su, Steve, & Cheri for your donations!!

In other news, more sponsors have been found for the Haitian kiddos:

Shinagne-dine Pierre-Joseph, Berthline Daniel, Serise Horne, & Bernadine Joseph now have sponsors!!! I am sooooo glad Shinagne-dine Pierre-Joseph has been taken. She is the one that grabbed my eye the most (and Jaden picked her, too). Since I knew I could not take for the next month or so, it has been killing me whatching her without a sponsor... But, never fear! She has a sponsor! Yay!!!


I will be posting more pictures soon... It would be really great to set up every child with a sponsor!

Brayan's Situation

left to right above: Disney Fairies, Disney Princesses, Littlest Pet Shop
left to right below: Batman, Toy Story, Bakugan

This is what I have... In hopes of helping Brayan... I have 6 types of sticker books. All of the books come with 414 stickers on 6 pages, except Batman which has 426! I have used these stickers in the past by carefully tearing out the pages & cutting down the middle of the page (to make them fit in a regular sized envelope)- Then, I stick them in my letters to the kids. I have, also, set the whole book in a direct package or in a 6" x 9" envelope.

I am offering these books to you all in exchange for a donation to help Brayan and his family. Each sticker book is $5, and all of the money goes to the fundraiser. You can either donate directly to his fundraiser here or order on the web store. The web store will give you the option of which sticker books you want, the fundraising page will not. If you use the fundraising page you will need to send me an e-mail to tell me which sticker book you want & where you want me to send them. I can ship them directly to you (if you are in the US or Canada), or to your CI, CUS, or HH4H child. (You can, also, order by calling CI & making a special needs donation directly to Brayan via Melissa Lidzy- If you do it this way, please let me know how much was donated, so that I can add it as an offline donation.)

Thanks!!!

**In other unrelated but terrific news, 4 more Haitian children have sponsors! From the group that was posted yesterday, these 3 are now sponsored: Kenderly Emmanuel, Junise Moise, and Jhimy Jean! From the older girls: Louvensa Decimus now has a sponsor!

Urgent!!! Emergency Fundraiser #4 launched!

I need every one's help, and I am willing to do just about anything to get it! Now don't take advantage of me while I am in a vulnerable position, but I will take requests for whatever I can do for you (in exchange for you helping me).

I must preface this I guess with the position I am in. I do not have big money hanging out in the bank... In fact, for the year, I will be lucky to make about $15,000. Everything I do here is voluntary because I can physically do a lot (I am just strapped money-wise). I say this, not so you will feel bad for me, but rather so that you will understand why I can't just call up CI & get this family taken care of.

Now, on to my situation. Some of you may remember Steve's trip to Mexico. He visited with my child Brayan & got several good video (and still) shots. In one of the video shots, Brayan's mother was explaining the situation the family was in- that they were going to be evicted and she had no money to pay them to stay in the house.

Well, I asked Greg @ CI to look into the situation. I got a long response back explaining the situation (which I have explained on the fundraising page). I had Brayan waiting in line with all of the rest of the fundraisers until today...

Today, I opened up my account, and I thought something was wrong with the web-site... But, there was nothing wrong with the site. However, there was something very wrong with the child report that they had just posted! The family was living on $95 a month. Now, their income is $0!!!! They have no support from family, and their situation is serious.

We have go to get Marlen (Brayan's mother) an income generating project TODAY! I just hope that they still have a roof over their heads & food to eat. I can't imagine what they must be going through.

Please help me help this family. I will not be sleeping tonight, I am sure. I will be thinking of ways to help those who help me/them. Stay tuned, as I am sure to post something for those special people.

If you would like to help, click, here

Small Fundraisers

Joyce's fundraiser has just launched. This is another small one. We only need a little over $200 to make this happen. To donate, click here

Jerry's fundraiser is only in need of $10 more! To donate, click here

These are our 2 small fundraisers. Jerry's is very close to completion, and Joyce's is just starting. You can click on the donation link to find out the details of their requests.

Also, we still have 14 Disney princess dolls left, so if you would like one go to the web store for purchase here For every doll purchased, $8 goes to our fundraisers!!

The Preschool Group~ Help for Haiti Part 4

Djefson Voltaire, age 3

Djethly Saint-Fard, age 3

Frantzley Joseph, age 3

Gidensen Michel, age 3

Loubentz Amboise, age 3

Nasly Fleurimond, age 3

Stevenson Oscar, age 3

Djivens Moise, age 4

Givensly Etienne, age 4
Mivinsqui Jeune, age 4

*Pictures removed because most of the children now have sponsors!!

The pictures of these little ones always make me laugh! I imagine the volunteers as they tried to coax the children into sitting still for a picture. Some of the children look terrified, others defiant, and others just happy to have a lollipop! So funny to me!

Imagine what these children have already been through in their short lives, and it is unsetting. Haiti has been the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere for hundreds of years. They never seem to be able to pull out of that place marker.

One reason Haiti has remained so poor for so long is because of the natural disasters. Imagine building your home, planting a garden, starting to raise your family... Then, in October 2007, Tropical Storm Noel sends a mudslide & floods to wipe out your home & crops! You start again as soon as the flood waters recede, you begin planting your crops & building your home again. By August and September 2008, 3 hurricanes and a tropical storm come through to destroy it all again!! How frustrating that must be for the people of Haiti!

I can't even imagine how the people of Haiti are feeling now- 6 days after an earthquake levelled most of the buildings and homes in and around Port-au-Prince, killing thousands! What would if feel like to be one of the injured waiting on treatment? What would it feel like to be one of the mothers with no food to feed their children? Close your eyes and put yourself in Haiti right at this moment...

Then, open your eyes, look at the children, and tell me who you can help.

"The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched. They must be felt within the heart."~ Hellen Keller

My Haitian Children

Rood-Djevlo Pierre is 10 years old. He is in the 1st level at the school in Danda (as you can tell by his peach colored uniform). He lives with his parents, 5 brothers and 2 sisters.

Jodesson Emmanuel is 12 years old. He is in the 5th level at the school in Paulette (once again, you can tell by his uniform). He lives with his parents, 2 brothers and 1 sister.

Finally, I am introducing you to the 2 I chose from His Hands for Haiti. It was a grueling process trying to choose between all of the children. I chose a 17 year old child first, but decided not to take him after I spoke with Jamie. For those of you veturing out to the HH4H web-site, you should know this... Jamie said that the children in Terrier Rouge are very unlikely to write their sponsors. Anyone who knows me knows that I like to communicate with my kids, so I decided to choose another child.

I chose Rood-Djevlo first. He had "Urgent Need" next to his name because there are so many children in his family. I sent him a letter last week, and will be sending him a package with the Valentine's Day bunch.

After Rood-Djevlo, I had at least 10 other children that caught my eye. Somehow I had to narrow it down. I am not sure how I narrowed it down, and can guarantee you that I still want to sponsor the other 9. I am pleading with this group to please take the children I wanted, so that they won't be there to tempt me into another sponsorship! (just kidding)

All kidding aside, I chose Jodesson after thinking on it for a week. I chose him because he is in a much higher grade level than Rood-Djevlo. I may get more letters out of him. *wink*

On to the Valentine's Day packages for Haiti... I have attached some pictures above of some of the choices available for these children in the web-store. In the web-store you will find 3 books to choose from in French. The children speak and learn creole. By the time of 3rd grade, they know French. The PreK-3rd grade books would be read to the children by their older siblings.

There are packages based on the child's gender and age. Plus, there are several additions to the basic package that you can add. The additions can be found with the Snoopy listing. The additions are: a baby doll, a body towel, Bath & Body Works lotion, car & dominoes set, & beanie babies (coming soon).

The packages going to Haiti have a 5 pound limit. Therefore, I will probably send a few packages (depending on how many want to participate). As I get the orders, I will ship them out in 5 pound bundles. The only items I would need to wait on to arrive are the books. The basic packages & all of the additions are ready to go at a moments notice.

Also, more children now have sponsors:

Ferdinand Seraphin, Jean-Donald, Sonel Richemond, Jovenel Richemond, & IsnaJennie Valcourt, Jeppnaidine Louidor (did I miss any one?)!

If the rest of you could keep me posted about any of the children you take, I will update the group. Thank you, one and all, for helping these children! They will need your support to get through the tough times that are ahead due to the earthquake and the chaos it has left!

Help for Haiti Part 3

Louvensky Noel, age 6

Obed Pierre-Gilles, age 6

Endrice Geffrad, age 6

Caslin Jean, age 6

Wilkenson Lazarre, age 6

Luckensen Nicolas, age 7

Djouvensly Joseph, age 7

Reginald Mondesir, age 7

Pugerson Gellin, age 8

Johnverly Alexis, age 8

Fredelyn Etienne, age 8

Wilgens Cador, age 9

Wilkens Dorvil, age 9

Edickson Ocean, age 9

*Pictures removed because most of them now have sponsors!!

Here are the boys between the ages of 6 and 9 that are in need of sponsors. I really hope we can get sponsors for all of the children. There are over 1,300 children in the Haiti program, but less than 200 are still waiting for sponsors! I will keep every one updated as this children find sponsors, and the number of waiting children becomes less and less.

For those who have chosen to sponsor a child in this program, I will be sending some packages to the Haitian children as well. I have made a generic package that will be available on the web store. To make it easier, and since these children speak Creole and not English (and I do not have a source of Creole books at this moment), the choice this time will be a boys package or a girls package (with a few different package choices). Here is what each package contains:

Boys & Girls packages for ages 1-12 will all have ($12):

tooth brush

tooth paste

soap

writing tablet

pencils

pencil sharpener

crayons

coloring book

stickers

candy

wash cloth

The boys can get a matchbox car & dominoes for an additional $5, and the girls can get a doll & hair barrettes for an additional $6.

Boys and Girls packages for ages 13 and up ($15):

tooth brush

tooth paste

lotion

soap

spiral notebook

markers

pens

candy

dominoes

wash cloth

deodorant

The cost to send each package is low, as you can see. I will send the package out on Valentine's Day (a package full of love). You have until February 7th to purchase a pack for your Haitian child. My Internet connection is really slow right now. I have a technician on the way to fix the problem. Once my connection speed is fixed, I will be able to add the Haitian packages to the web store... So, stay tuned. In the meantime, you may still order a package by sending a paypal payment to hhamilton2002@hotmail.com Make sure to include the name of your child and which package you are ordering. I will add more items for them at a later date (maybe a Christmas package of items). If you have ideas on what the children may like for their Christmas packages, comment on this post with your ideas. (beanie babies are coming this way, so maybe that is something that can be included- socks, bath towel, snacks)