My Heart Goes Out to Haiti

Posted by Beth Gasser on January 13, 2010 Leave a Comment

Trip to Haiti 024 Today I came home from picking the kids up from Chinese class and taking my oldest to swim practise. As I popped supper in the oven, and did a quick inventory of all my “to do” items for the evening, I took a second to check Facebook. Apparently not even 10 minutes prior, a massive earthquake struck Haiti, and a friend was kind enough to alert it to my attention. Suddenly, nothing I had planned seemed important. Tragedy will do that.

As you may know from my previous blog posts, Haiti is near and dear to me. I fell in love with the country when I traveled there in 2008, and I’ve stayed in touch with people and projects there. I am having trouble even comprehending the catastrophic repercussions of what is going on there tonight. If Haiti lacked infrastructure before, it is left with total destruction, pain, and chaos.

We prayed aloud at our dinner table tonight for the people of Haiti, and I had trouble even enjoying the food knowing so many people are suffering, scared, and missing loved ones. We frantically checked CNN, online news, Twitter feeds, and even listened to a live feed from a Haitian radio (in creole) moments after the disaster. Then I was struck by a thought.

Would I get on a plane tomorrow to go help?

Yes, I would. If I thought I could help and not hinder in any way, I would. Would it be a disturbing and hard trip with plenty of safety and travel issues? Yes, but I would still go. Once you travel to Haiti, it gets in your blood. The people are so wonderful. Please, pray for these people. Watch for ways you can help in the days to come. Lend your support in creative ways. If you are like me, you feel stuck in Minnesota with no medical emergency or civil engineering experience, but you can bet that if someone thinks of something I can do to help, I will.

We will continue with our Haiti Fundraiser on January 23rd as planned, and we will all be more determined as ever to help raise funds for Haiti! Check out our Deep Freeze Dunk! penguins

Here’s a great link to organizations helping with the Haiti Earthquake Relief Efforts!

Filed Under: News | Tagged: Tagged With: earthquake, fundraiser, haiti, minnesota

Matt Damon’s Promise to Haiti

Posted by Beth Gasser on September 23, 2009 Leave a Comment

Beth's Haiti Trip 068 Matt Damon is a great actor, but in my book he’s moved up to top notch person after yesterday. He announced that he and Gary White are committing $2 million dollars to help insure more clean water wells in Haiti over the next three years. I have had the privilege of traveling to Haiti, which I’ve blogged about on a couple of occasions about Mothers and Clean Water. Clean water in Haiti is a passion of mine, and I am 100% behind Matt and Gary’s efforts. They are using social media to get the word out, and so we need all of you to visit their website Water.org. You can join their Facebook page or follow them on Twitter and YouTube too.

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Please help us spread the word. Consider blogging about this very important effort to bring clean water to Haiti! I am very active in Haiti Outreach, a Minnesota based non-profit organization dedicated to drilling safe water wells in Haiti. Haiti Outreach brings people to Haiti to experience the country first hand. Please consider going. I promise it will be life changing.

Matt and his crew posted this blog post on their Facebook page! Check it out.

matt damon haiti

Filed Under: Featured Stories | Tagged: Tagged With: clean water, clean water projects, clinton global initiative, gary white, haiti, matt damon

Clean Water Thoughts

Posted by Beth Gasser on March 13, 2009 3 Comments

river between pignon and san raphael haiti

River's Edge Rural Pignon Haiti: bathing, washing clothes, heaven forbid human consumption - My trip in 2008

I have traveled to China, Mexico, and Haiti; three countries in this world of ours where visitors are told not to drink the water. While there are vast ranges to these countries and their water contamination issues, there are limited safe areas to find clean drinking water. When traveling, we were privileged to be coached about water issues, given bottled water in some cases, and carried medication and sanitizer with us. Again, we were privileged, and we have never gotten sick while traveling to even the most remote areas.

I believe it is a basic human right to have safe drinking water for people to access. Having seen the basic needs of people and orphans, my head and heart remind me daily to remember the people and places I’ve seen. I’ve been blessed with experiences that I can’t ignore. I’ve touched people, held orphans, exchanged smiles, and taken photos, so they are not faceless, nameless people who work hard everyday to survive. In fact, we have framed photos around our home of these beautiful people. I know that somewhere in the rural areas of China, my daughters’ birth mothers and fathers, grandparents and siblings live. Do they have safe water to drink?

People we love all over the world have touched our hearts. That’s why I am passionate about safe water projects in Haiti and China. This is an amazing article highlighting a new frontier in China’s orphanages; a clean drinking water filtration system in EVERY orphanage in China. This is unimaginable, yet it is happening.

Local Water Supply Room Beijing China: Not the areas seen on the news during the olympics; shared water, shared showers and toilets for many families - My trip in 2008

My husband and I remain very involved in Haiti Outreach, looking forward to future trips and ways to help our children travel and get involved. What are you passionate about? What inhabits your mind, continually making you think? Share with us.

Filed Under: Featured Stories | Tagged: Tagged With: china, clean water projects, do they have clean water in china, haiti, international adoption, orphanages, potable water, safe drinking water, safe water

A Mother in Haiti

Posted by Beth Gasser on February 3, 2009 3 Comments

I started writing after my trip to Pignon, Haiti less than a year ago. It was a life changing trip, and I want to make sure I never forget the people I met during my two week stay up in the mountains. When I tell people about my trip and life in Haiti, it helps me to remember how blessed I am each and everyday. I did a lot of public speaking after I returned, but like all things, the outside interest subsides. I will not forget the mothers and girls who worked everyday to survive. With no electricity, no running water, no communication, no refrigeration, limited medical care, and difficult travel, Haiti is as rustic and impoverished as it gets. I hope to continue my writing on Haiti and return there someday with my girls, as they get old enough to travel. My husband has also traveled to Haiti (we both traveled without each other) and has a passion for Haiti Outreach as I do. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Featured Stories | Tagged: Tagged With: clean water, haiti, haitian mothers, trip to haiti