So take these words, and sing out loud...

So, I pretty never write about current events in this journal, but today I want to.

So, if you've lived under a rock and haven't heard, there was a massive earthquake in Haiti.

A little background information about Haiti (since Andrew told me that people in his class thought Haiti was in Africa). Haiti is an island in the Caribbean and it is one of the poorest countries in the world. There's a pretty unstable government, and as a whole, the country is not incredibly educated. Who can blame them really? People there barely have access to things like clean drinking water. Who worries about education if they don't even have water? These people live in terrible conditions. Many still live in houses with dirt floors, and it's an average of about 5 people per bedroom. Bad living conditions+lack of clean water+crowded homes means diseases spread fast. I heard on a documentary once that Haiti is actually considered a fourth world country, but I don't know if that fact is still accurate.

Anyway, the earthquake that hit would have been a bad earthquake anywhere, but the fact that it hit Haiti makes it exceptionally worse. Their buildings weren't all that sturdy anyway, so clearly they collapsed. Schools, hospitals, homes, collapsed, many with people (children) in them. A country this poor doesn't have access to the types of machinery to lift heavy pieces of debris. Think about that. People were trapped under these collapsed buildings, and perhaps could have survived, but there simply wasn't a way to get them out. This country doesn't have access to good medical care either, and the disaster has made it that much harder to get the proper care to those in need (and has also increased the amount of those in need). Medical care isn't the only issue. It's now even harder to transport food and clean water. Those are basic necessities. And since many structures collapsed, housing all of these displaced people in an already overcrowded place.

The UNICEF website estimates that 3 million people have been hurt by the earthquake and HALF of those 3 million are children. Children who are expected to rise above this trauma eventually. Children in a country where there isn't a social welfare system like there is here in the States, where they can be placed with families until they are 18 and can be on their own. No food stamps, no free lunch program, nothing.

If a level 7 earthquake hit in the United States, it would suck, yes, but we'd be back on our feet in no time. We have organizations like the army national guard, americorps, and the red cross to help in crisis situations, not to mention tons of and tons of small community organizations and groups high school and college students to volunteer and raise money. There are places to get food and clothing for your family, some of them are completely on an honors system and you can get what you need no questions asked.

A natural disaster in the United States is terrible, especially when lives are lost, so think of the impact of a natural disaster on a country like Haiti. Even the worst off of the people in the United States can walk into a mall or library and use the public restroom for the toliet, sink, and drinking fountain. It just blows my mind that even in the best of times, there is a country that does not have that luxury. Being able to flush the toilet as a luxury? Ever considered that? Maybe we should.

The primary coffee getting place on the Akron campus is Starbucks. Think of how much money Starbucks makes in one day. Think of how much money the average Akron student spends on coffee in one week. When it comes down to Starbucks or Zees, let's face it, we're all picking Starbucks. I'd say average drink there is about 3 dollars. And why am I even limiting myself to saying how much we spend on coffee? I mean, think of how much we spend on water. The cheapest bottled water I've found on campus is at zees for .79, but I'm pretty sure the Aquafinia is the same price as pop (1.25?). We spend 1.25 on bottled water because the water tastes bad? Because it isn't "clean" or "filtered" or whatever? The water in Cuyahoga Falls tastes better than the water in Akron? We spend extra money to buy bottled water because we don't like the way water tastes? When there are people in other countries DYING because they don't have clean water? Dying of diseases we've never even heard of or considered because of lack of drinking water. Americans sanitize their hands at the grocrey store before touching the cart so we don't catch a cold, but other countries still worry about things like dysentary.

Now imagine every single person who bought bottled water decided to stop doing it for one day, and give that 1.25 to unicef. (I hate to throw this in your face again Circle K'ers, but I am). Unicef can buy a water purification tablet for six cents. So, one person gives up bottled water for one day, and 21 people get clean water. One person gives up their $4 Starbucks frappuchino for one day, and 67 people get clean water.

Now, clean water in Haiti is a big problem indeed, but now there are even bigger problems. If we can give 67 people clean water just by skipping the frappuchino for one day, let's imagine what we can do now. We live in a country where people go into stores like Abercrombie and Fitch and buy jeans for $98. Imagine what the world could be like if every person who had plans to go shopping and buy expensive jeans this weekend decided they would give that money to those in need instead. If .06 cents can provide clean water, imagine what 98 dollars could do! Imagine what the world would be like if no one ever spent hundreds of dollars on purses (there is one on the coach website that is 1,000 dollars!!) I don't imagine the 1,000 dollar purse is a big seller, but what if that one person who wanted it made the decision to donate that money to an organization like the red cross or unicef instead? Can you imagine what could happen in Haiti if everyone who wanted a coach purse changed their mind and donated it instead? Proper medical care, enough food, safe and sturdy shelters, schools, so much.

There were people trapped underneath fallen buildings yesterday/today simply because they did not have the resources to move the debris. And there are Americans who spend 1,000 dollars on a purse?! This disgusts me. Think of what people other countries could do with that ridiculous amount of money!

So here's what you can do right now:

Donate directly to the Haiti fund at UNICEF USA On the homepage there is currently a red big link saying donate now.
Or donate through the Red Cross website. Again, a big red link saying donate now.
Or, if you don't even want to leave your chair, pull your cell phone out of your pocket, and text "HAITI" to 90999. By doing this, you will donate $10 dollars to the red cross, which will be added on to your next phone bill.

And seriously, don't underestimate the power of prayer. These children need prayers more than ever, and if you're flat broke and can't donate anything, just stop and think and say a prayer for them.








And it's someplace simple where we could live
And something only you can give
And thats faith and trust and peace while we're alive
And the one poor child that saved this world
And there's 10 million more who probably could
If we all just stopped and said a prayer for them

So take these words
And sing out loud
Cuz everyone is forgiven now
Cuz tonight's the night the world begins again

I wish everyone was loved tonight
And somehow stop this endless fight
Just a chance that maybe we'll find better days