Did you know:
The San Francisco earthquake of 1989 was at the same time of day as the Haiti quake, and was of the same magnitude. Over 200,000 Haitians died. EIGHTY NINE San Franciscans died. How could that be?
Simple. Most of Haiti’s buildings wouldn’t meet required inspection codes in the US. The roofs simply fell flat onto the occupants. Is this the fault of the Haitians? Not at all. The infrastructure is of a low grade because of the extreme poverty. The poverty exists in large part, not because the Haitians haven’t made a strong effort to develop their country – it exists because to develop their country, the Haitian government reduced trade and agriculture tariffs to secure International Monetary Fund loans, and to attract foreign investors. The unfortunate result? Foreign privatized agriculture practically wiped out local rice farms, and when the competition was gone, prices were raised up to 141%. Exploitation, plain and simple.
The pressure being placed on rich foreign countries (profiting from Haiti’s poverty) is making a difference though. Just this month the G7 countries unilaterally forgave Haiti’s debt. Haiti still however, owes a staggering amount to the International Monetary Fund. While progress is being made, the poor are still suffering, day by day. You can make a difference.
Friend, this is a nation enslaved in debt, and because of this disaster, it’s not certain they’ll ever recover. You can help. Buying a Haiti shirts directly helps the poor. At a time like this, where their future looks so bleak, you can make a direct difference. The proceeds of this shirt go directly to our partners on the ground, in Haiti and fund relief efforts for the suffering.
If you’ve already bought a shirt, we sincerely thank you! Please share this link with like-minded people who want to make a real difference.
To read more about the work being done in Haiti, please click here.
The story behind our Espere shirt. Two members of Spendyourself were able to travel with Northside Christian Church and film this video as part of their Advent Conspiracy event in December. We thought it certainly helped tell the story as to why we feel so strongly about this project. To read more about the story behind this shirt, please click here.
I first met Chris when he came to Haiti last summer. He came with Zach, who I already knew from college. Their trip was short and hectic, as we flew and drove all over the Northwest department of Haiti. Luckily, within the few days of the trip we had several moments to sit and discuss some of the things that they saw and experienced.
We ate Dominoes under the awning of the Coconut Hotel in Port au Prince, and discussed everything from inner city ministry to social justice, church politics to t-shirts, and sweatshops to college basketball. The problems of Haiti were a recurring topic.
They asked me my opinion on Haiti’s most pressing needs, specifically in the area in which NWHCM works. My response was the lack of trees/erosion along with access to clean water. In many ways the two topics are interwoven. Trees and water go hand in hand, and I think this idea is portrayed in the shirt that they put together (pictured above). Without trees desertification of arable land becomes an issue. Without trees, erosion will pollute not only drinking water sources, but also the ocean, driving off fish that are an essential part of the Haitian economy and diet. Polluted water sources, or the lack of water sources in general, cause a myriad of diseases and other health issues. In a country where children die from the dehydration caused by diarrhea, clean sources of water are not things to be taken lightly. The lack of drinking water also hits the Haitian home economically. Many people are forced to buy clean water by the jug or bucket, others pay expensive medical bills at government hospitals for illnesses that could have been prevented by access to a clean source of water.
If one dug deep enough would they find that there are other underlying factors that contribute to the lack of clean water and trees in Haiti? Most likely, and so a holistic ministry that teaches responsibility and respect is crucial in this work to help Haiti. We have yet to see the long-term results from the disastrous earthquakes that hit Haiti earlier this month, but one can almost guarantee that they will affect every aspect of Haiti life, including access to clean water as well as food production.
The folks over at Spendyourself have put together a shirt the proceeds of which all go to support NWHCM. They have already raised a large amount of money for the purpose of buying equipment to drill wells for some of the remote areas in the Northwest. Since the earthquake they had to call an audible at the line and are now diverting some of the funds from the shirts towards earthquake relief as well. This has been a long process that started with a trip to Haiti and some great conversations between the people at Spend Yourself and the staff and leadership from NWHCM. Where the story ends is another question.
The word on the shirt “espere” is the Creole verb for “hope.” The implications/interpretations of the word in reference to the shirt seem limitless. As an organization we hope that Haiti can pull through this disaster. We hope for a Haiti in which people have access to clean water. We hope for a Haiti that reflects the natural beauty and fertile mountainsides that it was once known for. We hope for a Haiti in which people are treated fairly and with respect by citizens within the country and the global community. We hope for a Haiti that will continue to see growth in the body of believers, one in which the global body will show solidarity with, not as all-mighty, benevolent Americans or members of the first world, but as the body of Christ being the body of Christ (I think I stole that phrase from someone).
Essentially, we hope for Haiti the same things that we hope for our own lives and those around us. We can no longer ignore the people living from the margins, living in the parts of the world that are only discussed during times of war and natural disaster. The reality is that these people not only live the moments that we periodically see on CNN but they also live in the expanse of years between the disasters that make it on the news, and sometimes those normal days are harder than the ones that garner international attention and aid.
It is a big message for a t-shirt right? Nevertheless it is a message that we cannot afford to forget, not for Haiti or for any other group of people as well.
-Curtis Rogers
(Curtis is currently on staff with NWHCM and serves on the ground in northwest Haiti)
For more information on how you can help those in Haiti, please click here.
Funny things about natural disasters…
The funny thing about natural disasters is their ability to bring light to dark situations. Unless you have been in a cave, you have witnessed in some form or fashion the catastrophe that hit the island of Haiti last week. Thousands upon thousands of people are left dead due to a 7.0 earthquake and numerous aftershocks. Buildings collapsed, homes where shook to the ground, the earth split, mountains crumbled; burying men, women, and children. The country of Haiti and it’s citizens will never be the same…I HOPE.
You see, two days before the earthquake people in Haiti were already dying. Haiti is the poorest country in the western hemisphere, with a government that is barely stable, and a population that has lived in despair for so long they have forgotten the word espère, which means hope in Creole. Two days before the earthquake, Haitians lived with little to no safe drinking water, no food, or housing. Two days before the earthquake Haitians hesitated to name their children and rarely celebrated a birthday until the age of five because, well, many children do not make it to that age…That was Haiti two days before the quake…and it will be Haiti two years after the earthquake unless…
Unless we embrace the light. This earthquake, much like the hurricane that brought awareness to the destitution that littered New Orleans, has awakened the world to suffering of many in Haiti. What happens after the wreckage clears will then, and only then, define Haiti’s next path. Without a reckoning emerging from the wreckage Haiti will fall back into the darkness. So we, Christians, we humans, must respond. We can no longer turn a deaf ear and blind eye to the atrocities that happen less than six hours away. And we cannot wait for another earthquake, tsunami, or whatever disaster to bring light to the darkness. The last time I read the Good Book, I believe it said that that was our job. Join us in bringing espère back to Haiti.
-C Harp
For more information on how you can help those in Haiti, please click here.
It seems to be no coincidence that for the past several weeks we have been working with Northwest Haiti Christian Mission to create a shirt to benefit Haiti. We now have an entirely new sense of urgency and wanted to get this out as soon as possible. Read more about what is happening via this organization here.
Even before the earthquake, Haiti was the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere. Even more so now, Haiti is in need of our help. For the immediate future, you can order this shirt, and all of the profits will go to NWHCM to help relieve suffering as a result of the earthquake and work toward providing northwest Haiti with access to water.
About the shirt:
The shirt contains the word Espere, which is Creole for hope. Northwest Haiti is the poorest region of the country and many people in this region have to walk for hours at a time to access clean water. Due to the extremely hard ground, past attempts to drill in the area only resulted in broken equipment. We are excited to report that a sizable donation was made last month to fund the purchase of the correct equipment, which means we can get started on the water systems as soon as we have the funds. With this equipment in place, we aim to partner with NWHCM to bring clean water systems to Northwest Haiti as well as provide education on the systems. However, due to the traumatic situation in Haiti presently, funds will be also be made available to the emergency earthquake relief fund at NWHCM. They are on the ground with medical support and are committed to serving those affected by the disaster.
Original Story behind the shirt:
Most of us live in a filtered world. That is to say that the simple things we are so abundantly blessed with are not considered a blessing, but more like something that we expect. For most of us, accessing water is as easy as the turn, twist, or adjustment of a knob.
Those of us who live in this filtered world rarely consider the possibility that there may be some place, somewhere, where clean and safe water does not exist. There could be a world in which to drink means unavoidable sickness is coming. There could be a heartbreaking world where there is no way to properly hydrate, or bathe a child. The consequence of this is a world where children between the ages of one and five do not have a birthday celebration because all odds say he or she will die sometime before their fifth year of existence.
There are developing countries all across the globe where clean, safe water is only a dream. There are 1.1 billion people in the world without safe water. That is one in every six people on the planet. According to UNICEF, 19 million children die each year from diarrheal diseases related to unsafe drinking water. That is one child in every eight seconds.
There is a world where a mother and her children have to wake up on a daily basis and travel two and a half hours for water that will most likely make them sick. In fact, this world is not far from the filtered world of the United States.
Haiti is the most impoverished country in the Western Hemisphere. It lies roughly 680 miles south of Miami, Florida, literally in the backyard of the United States. The exciting thing is that there are people who are doing something about the water crisis in Haiti. Northwest Haiti Christian Mission has been immersed in the nation and culture of Haiti for years. Many people through NWHCM have dedicated their lives to holistically recognizing and meeting the needs of the Haitian people. One of the most crucial needs in Northwest Haiti is that of clean and safe drinking water.
Through the purchase of this shirt you will have the opportunity to join NWHCM in providing water to the masses in Haiti. All profits from the shirt sales will go directly towards installing clean water systems in the area and educate those who use it. In doing so, you are rebuilding Haiti by giving the country its most needed resource – water.
Photos above from Andy Olsen Photography. Thanks Andy!
