More Haiti Reflections, and the Dominican Republic too. . .

http://www.ireport.com/docs/DOC-401557

This is video from the border of Haiti and the Dominican Republic (DR) from CNN. It is from the town of Jimani on the border betwee the DR and Haiti. Healing Waters has a water system in Jimani.

I spent 5 weeks in the DR last summer and was blown away by the poverty there. In all of my experiences and travel in Latin America in the past decade, including visiting and/or doing development projects in half a dozen countries, I had never seen poverty as severe as what I saw in the Dominican Republic.

Now Haitians are fleeing Haiti because they see more opportunity in the DR. This is a remarkable comparison to me. The poverty in the DR is stark and overwhelming, but compared to Haiti it is almost a paradise.

This really makes me stop and pause and pray for our brothers and sisters in Haiti and our brothers and sisters in the DR who are trying to help the people of Haiti. Amazing.

Haiti Reflections

This will be the first in a series of reflections and thoughts on Haiti:

A Friday Morning
January 22nd, 2010
by Gail Rodgers

Have you, or a friend or family member, been personally affected by the tragedy in Haiti? If you’d like to speak with someone privately about it, contact us today.

This morning I turned on the coffee pot and headed for the shower. The warm water was instantly there. Clean hair, fresh towels, clean clothes … and coffee. Then I flipped on CNN.

The mass commotion on a main street in Port-au-Prince drew my attention. The camera zoomed in on a young man threateningly holding up a broken piece of concrete as a weapon.

As the images flash by it’s hard to imagine that this chaos is happening right this moment as I sip my coffee. It troubles my heart to see fellow human beings in such a depth of despair with little hope.

That devastating earthquake in Haiti is overwhelming. The pain is unbelievable, and the anguished faces etch their outline on our memories. They are hungry. They are thirsty. They are frantically looking for loved ones. They have not so much as a blanket or a change of clothes much less a meal to eat. The help is coming, yet the need is so very great.

It’s easy to turn the TV off and continue on into my day. Can I shake off the uneasiness? Can I push the images of the wailing faces to the back of my mind and hurry on? I am so far removed from the chaos. I am so helpless to aid the breaking hearts …

The sun is shining. It’s a good day to wash the car perhaps … and on we go with our own lives. On we MUST go with our own lives. Thankful for today. Praying a prayer for Haiti that is hard to even find words for. What can I do?

I stop at my laptop. A quick search brings me to a donation page and before I leave I hit the button and send what seems like such an insignificant gift is the face of such need.

Yet my donation will join with many others and together they WILL make a difference. Together we, who have the privilege of going about our daily routine, will stop to share what we can with those who so desperately need it.

Sip your coffee with a grateful heart, yes. But take a moment to be the hands and feet of Jesus in Haiti today. It’s what Jesus calls us to do.

Lord God, Thank you that we can represent You in Haiti today by giving what we can to be Your hands and feet to the hurting. Flood our hearts with generosity and care. Be very present in the midst of that chaos and make a way for help to flourish. In Your name we pray, amen.

Question: How does our faith compel us to help others? (Consider for example Romans 10:23-24: “Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds.”) Could you spare some funds to help in Haiti?

Doing development work without doing more harm

Photo of a boy in Chiapas outside his home. His family receives water from the Aguas de Unidad / Healing Waters Project in his community. Before the project this boy was sick a lot and his growth was stunted. Since the project opened he has been much healthier and is growing normally.

I was forwarded the article below by the CEO of Healing Waters, Ed Anderson. It really cuts to the core of issues around development and how important it is that we are aware of what we are doing, sustainability, appropriate technology, and community involvement. Below the article I have posted some of my own thoughts and commentary.


Help That Makes a Difference: Change our Worldview


The goal is not to turn Kampala into Chicago. The goal is for both Kampala and Chicago to look more like the New Jerusalem.
Brian Fikkert, co-author of When Helping Hurts posted 12/15/2009 09:50AM

What's the biggest change needed in how charities and federal agencies deliver aid to developing nations? Brian Fikkert, co-author of When Helping Hurts, David Beckmann, president of Bread for the World, and Dale Hanson Bourke, author of The Skeptic's Guide to Global Poverty, suggest the best way to help.

"We were happy in our village before you folks told us we were poor. We didn't have many things, but happiness doesn't come just from having more material things. What makes you think we want to become just like you?"

The audience, a group of American donors and development leaders, looked bewildered as Emily, a community development worker from Liberia, took her seat. Finally, one of the U.S. donors spoke up. "Yes, of course we share your goals, Emily. That's why we keep on bringing you more capital and technology." Emily listened helplessly, realizing that her message had fallen on deaf ears—again.

Americans are the richest people ever to walk the face of the earth, and we coexist with 2.6 billion people living on less than $2 per day. The situation is simply immoral.
We must do more, but we must do it differently.

For the past 60 years, the majority of American assistance has flowed out of a materialistic worldview, which assumes that wealth is produced by material things, namely capital and technology. In this view, America is "developed." We have arrived, and they have not. The assumption is that if we provide them with more capital and technology, they will be able to be just like the U.S.—a country where families and communities are disintegrating, where addictions are on the rise, where mental and emotional illnesses are exploding, and where rampant consumerism is
bankrupting all of us.

The need for more capital and better technology persists. People really do need improved access to clean water, better health care, decent education, and a living wage. But they, and we, need something far more profound. Whether we realize it or not, we all are longing for an intimate relationship with God, for a sense of dignity, for community and belonging, and for the ability to use our gifts and abilities to develop creation. The goal is not to turn Kampala into Chicago. The goal is for both Kampala and Chicago to look more like the New Jerusalem.

The practical implications for providing aid are enormous: Spend more resources on supporting people-empowering processes and less on bricks and mortar; help people to steward the gifts and resources they already have; include the materially poor as full participants in selecting, designing, implementing, and evaluating any intervention; build the capacity of indigenous churches and Christian organizations to work in highly relational, gospel-focused ways; promote the use of spiritual tools—prayer, meditation, fellowship, and Bible study—in addition to material tools in all
poverty-alleviation efforts; and embrace that both they and we are fundamentally
broken and in need of the healing that only Jesus Christ can bring. We are all developing nations.

There are a couple of quotes in this article that really speak to me. The first is the quote from the Liberian aid worker. We have a tendency to try to "fix" problems from a very "westernized" and "first world" perspective. If we could just get a laptop and cell phone in the hands of everyone, wouldn't life be better? The reality is that those of us engaged in development work need to go into communities and ask the locals what they want instead of telling them what they need. This simple, basic rule of good development work is so often overlooked. We have an overwhelming desire to fix problems, we forget to stop and ask what problems the community feels are most in neeed of fixing.



The next quote from this short article that really resonated with me was, "Americans are the richest people ever to walk the face of the earth, and we coexist with 2.6 billion people living on less than $2 per day. The situation is simply immoral."



This quote is spot-on. There are so many severe problems associated with poverty that could be fixed so easily like irradication of basic diseases, providing safe drinking water, etc. Very basic investment in the community, and community involvement are key to resolving these problems.



The next quote was so good they used it as the byline for the article, "The goal is not to turn Kampala into Chicago. The goal is for both Kampala and Chicago to look more like the New Jerusalem." WOW! These guys got it right. It is not that every country and city needs to look like a first-world destination, but the basic needs and human rights of every person must be realized, which would look an awful lot like the New Jerusalem.



Some thoughts for reflection. Enjoy!

New year, new perspectives. . .

After a month and a half long hiatus from blogging, I am back. For those of you who have been encouraging me to write and post, thank you for your encouragement.

A lot has happened in the last month and a half. Most importantly, my wife and I had our first child. Esther Margaret Allen-Pickett was born on December 17th, 2009 at 1:50pm. She weighed in at a healthy 8lbs 8ozs and is doing great! She is quickly approaching three weeks of age and she changes and grows every day.





This year I am going to be doing a lot of posting about being a new parent and the daily miracles I am experiencing. I will also continue to post about global poverty issues, the global safe drinking water crisis and my work with Healing Waters International. I will not be traveling to the field for a few months as Jessica and I settle into our new lives and roles and parents, but will be back in Latin America before too long.

The first thing I want to share with you about our miraculous bundle of joy is the history of her name, Esther Margaret. The post below was written from Esther's perspective with a little help from her mom and dad. Enjoy!

The Story of My Name: Written by Esther with help from mommy and daddy

Monday, December 21, 2009

The big day has come and no longer am I just “Lil’ AP,” but I am now officially Esther Margaret Allen-Pickett. Outdated, old-fashioned, and maybe some might even say obscure, but my parents thought long and hard about this name. There are many special people who are a part of me; however, my parents figured that a name with an infinite amount of letters might not be the nicest “Welcome to the World Baby Girl” present they could give me.

My first name, Esther, comes from my dad’s paternal grandma. She was a great lady who lived to be 99 (less than two weeks shy of her 100 birthday). She had a kind and gentle spirit, an unassuming manner, and was the eternal optimist. If you could only use one word to describe her, it would be "kindness." My dad’s favorite memories of her involve, Chinese Checkers, pecan pie, love for dogs (I think this is where my dad gets his), weekday afternoons, and New Mexico style enchiladas. My daddy wrote a blog post about her last year that you can read by clicking here.

This is a picture of Daddy and Esther, Daddy's Grandma

My middle name, Margaret, comes from my mom’s maternal grandma. She was also an extraordinary woman. Whose strength carried her through many trials and tribulations. If you could only use one word to describe her, it would be “spunky.” She never took no for an answer, was hard as nails, but had the patience of a saint when it came to her granddaughters. Some of my mom’s favorite memories of her involve bicycle riding, cards, swimming in the river, the library, and chocolate chip cookies. This is a picture of Mommy, Grandma Char and Margaret, Mommy's Grandma with my big brother Sol

It feels like a lot to live up to (these two remarkable ladies), but I know that they, along with all of my past and present relatives and friends are with me. With the help of this great village, I know that I too will be an exceptional woman.