"Now twitchy has become the new normal...."

There is a troika of articles in the New York Times that acknowledge the 3 month anniversary of the January 12 earthquake in Haiti.

Here we have a graffiti artist with the gift of sight.

In this article,  the author talks about a post-earthquake return to his home in Carrefour, after an absence of 24 years.

[I'll stop in Carrefour Friday after I arrive in Haiti, on my way to Leogane, to see what help I can offer to a friend of a friend. His name is Douglas, and his father is a community leader, pastor, and schoolmaster in Carrefour. They've had trouble getting any real help from NGOs.]

And here is an article about the gradual return to life -- far from normal, but life nonetheless. "...flashes of light in a landscape that reminds us of life’s brevity."

Laduceur Family Home Devastated in January Earthquake

This video shows work HODR is doing in Leogane, Haiti



Project Leogane Web Page

T-minus Three Days and Counting...

I leave Thursday afternoon for Haiti. I have a 3-1/2 page list of things I need to do before I leave -- I've been in 'frantic' mode for a couple of days. Yesterday I crossed off only five of seventeen tasks I had scheduled for Sunday. I haven't quite entered 'panic' yet. But I did wake with a start at 4:30 this morning, and literally said "Oh sh*t."

Sunday afternoon I met with Cristie, who will house-sit for me while I'm gone. If I entered my ideal criteria into the Housesitter Machine, it would spit out an exact copy of Cristie.  She's kind, responsible, well-recommended, available the exact dates I'm gone, likes cats, is a talented gardener, and likes to clean. And she's excited for the chance to stay here!

Yesterday was a very nice birthday-and-going-away party with my family. I got some cool gear, like a solar charger for my cell phone, an LED lantern, and a new North Face raincoat. Not to mention a come-along (ratcheted pully for moving heavy items) to be donated to the HODR base camp. I have a good family.

 

I expect I'll need the raincoat. In Haiti, it's now moving into the rainy season. From web sites and blogs, I've learned that it's wet in April/May, and "hot, hot, hot" in June. I suppose the heat will give me a chance to dry out.... The base manger in Leogane said it's a good idea to pack along rubber boots.

 

[photo: The growing pile in a corner of my living room -- items that I may take with me. Everything from chocolate to a shovel. The colored chalk is for tagging buildings that have been searched and/or inspected.]

 

In general, I'm very excited. I've been telling friends that this is Brian's Next Big Adventure. I'm a little overwhelmed with details -- finish the almost-complete kitchen remodel, make a list for the housesitter, return library books, get insurance squared away, automate bill-paying, do some fundraising, get the house ready for someone else to live here, notify everyone, stop the newspaper --  but there will come a point on Thursday when I leave for the airport, and there's nothing more I can do.

 

And when I get off the plane in Port au Prince, I'll be hit with heat and devastation and achingly poor people and a new job and the mysteries of a third world county. The feeling I have now is anticipation and excitement. I'm quite certain I'll be consumed with the experience -- how could you fail to be? And all these little details that overwhelm me now will fade and seem inconsequential.

 

Unless... I forget to buy travel insurance, let's say, and need to get airlifted to a hopital in Miami next month because I have a chunk of rebar pinning my fibula to my clavicle. Then that particular detail will rise up again as a pretty critical one that I really should have taken care of...

 

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Your thoughts on the blog, please. When I set up the format, I hit Google's 'Monetize' button -- Google inserts advertisements. I find it a bit distracting (no offense Google), so I might get rid of it. On the other hand, in the few days this has been up, I've already made a blistering one dollar thirty six! In other words, I guess it's no way to get rich... Let me know in the comments section if I should get rid of the ads.

Rebuilding Haitian Lives

I'm taking a risk to go off to Haiti. So I'm asking for help to offset some of my expenses -- travel, insurance, supplies, mortgage. I've never requested many donations from friends and family for runs, or climbs, or walks, or bicycle rides to raise money for charity.

But with this adventure, I'm going where I can do some good with my own two hands, to try and make a difference in the lives of some desperate people. So throw in a few bucks. Think of it as your pesonal donation toward "Rebuilding Haitian Lives."

If you donate, I will send personal email updates to you from the field. For the right price, I'll bring you a Panama hat! I'll provide a full accounting of my fundraising and expenses here on the blog.





Thank you!!! From me. And from the families in Haiti. :-)
Wish me luck!

If you don't have PayPal, I will gladly give you an address to send the checks!

Off to Haiti in April

Well, kids, I'm starting this new blog with the announcement that I'm traveling to Haiti April 15, 2010, to do relief work for two months.*

I will be working with a group called HODR - Hands On Disater Relief. They have a base camp set up for 100 volunteers in a city named Leogane, which is 25 miles west of Port au Prince, and a scant 5 miles north of the epicenter of January's devastating earthquake.

I expect I'll start out with digging rubble, then maybe build some latrines. Eventually I'll transition to designing shelters and training people in ATC-20: Post Earthquake Structural Assessment of Buildings.

I've already made a good connection, even before traveling to Haiti. I spoke to a generous representative at a company that is a major cell phone supplier in Haiti, Trilogy-International, which happens to be based right here in Seattle. They have agreed to provide cell phones for the HODR relief effort. For free!!!

I'm meeting with the chairs of Architects Without Borders - Seattle, and AIA Seattle Disaster Response Task Force next week to see if there are opportunities for collaboration.
* For what it's worth, if foolish bad crazy people get the idea that my house will be sitting vacant, I will have a house-sitter.