Armchair disaster relief
This morning my husband flipped on the tv while I was trying to rouse myself from sleep beside him. I pulled on my glasses, and the first thing I saw was miles of rubble, an aerial shot of Port-au-Prince on the Today show. Like most of you, I’ve had Haiti on my mind lately. A month or two ago I read Tracy Kidder’s Mountains Beyond Mountains, the story of the amazing Paul Farmer and the things he’s done to advance the cause of medicine in the third world, primarily in Haiti, and ever since I’ve been thinking about how so many people in the world live with so little. And now Haiti’s people have even less.
Thousands of miles away, I live a very comfortable existence, but the four kids with which I’ve been blessed, the warm, comfortable home in which we live, bind me to this place and make it impossible for me to drop everything and join in a relief effort. Even my husband, with the kinds of medical skills that Haiti needs, can’t leave the people who need his medical skills here.
So I feel impotent as I watch the devastation on tv. I spent some time looking at various relief agencies yesterday and made what feels like a small donation to Partners in Health. I also considered the Red Cross (where you can text a donation), the church disaster relief fund, and Heifer International). It doesn’t feel like I’ve done enough, especially as I look around at the comfort of my own surroundings and contrast that with the images on tv.
How are you getting involved? What ways have you heard that people around you are helping out? Most of us probably feel that we’ve been given much, from a global perspective, and we want to give, but we just don’t know how.
We did a chili potluck today at work. We were all asked to bring condiments to go with it (rolls, chips, cheese, etc.). Then, if you wanted to participate in eating it, there was a $5 cover charge.
It worked out really well; for any employee at my work that organizes a humanitarian donation for a good cause, our company matches the donation up to $250. So far, we have raised about $150, and we’re still going!
We’re going to do some more of these type potlucks next week.
Comment by granolagirl — January 15, 2010 @ 3:31 pm
While looking at the church humanitarian website, I found out that we can give directly to different initiatives, my favorite for now being the wheelchair initiative - I am so excited to find out that one regular wheelchair is $57 and an all-terrain one is $125! After this disaster, many more wheelchairs will be needed just in Haiti.
A family could give out one night out to a restaurant, and give someone the gift of mobility! Or a couple give up one dinner and a movie! AMAZING! We can do SO much to help!
Comment by Melissa P. — January 15, 2010 @ 4:02 pm
You know what I mean…give UP one night out!
Comment by Melissa P. — January 15, 2010 @ 4:04 pm
I, personally, completely and totally powerless. I can do nothing personally. I give to LDS Humanitarian Services every paycheck already. I live on a fairly tightly regulated budget and have more than a week to go before I get paid and not quite enough in ready money to do it. I can only pray.
I wonder, though…I don’t know. I don’t like that I don’t want to respond in this case of emergency, but I do keep it in mind and that’s why I give every paycheck. Should I add to it on top of every paycheck? But then, because stuff like this is inevitable SOMEWHERE in the world, that’s why I planned for it already.
It’s almost like I feel like I should experience some discomfort, albeit of the tiny tight-budget-next-week variety, in order to really satisfy the desire to feel like I’ve helped.
Comment by Katie P. — January 15, 2010 @ 4:04 pm
Thanks so much for raising this issue, Shelah! I have spent the last several years working for an international disaster relief agency and have seen firsthand the great work that they do. I encourage everyone to give what you can to a trustworthy organization. One of the things I saw in Indonesia after the 2004 tsunami is that a lot of little organizations had collected money or even goods like clothing, and they were not able to effectively distribute it. They meant well, but they didn’t have mechanisms in place to really make it work. Even the church realized it didn’t have a network in Indonesia and instead worked through Islamic Relief and the International Organization for Migration, quite effectively as far as I could tell. So make sure you give to an organization that has an international presence and a strong rating by Charity Navigator. Organizations like the Red Cross, Save the Children, Medecins sans Frontieres, Oxfam, Catholic Relief Services, or the church humanitarian fund are probably good options.
And if you can’t donate right now, I don’t think you should feel guilty. You do contribute to the church through your tithing and to the government relief efforts through your taxes.
It’s going to be a long road to recovery for Haiti, and whatever we can give–including our thoughts and prayers–is needed.
Comment by Sofia — January 15, 2010 @ 4:26 pm
This is going to sound somewhat trite, but I think it’s important to be involved all of the time and not just armed with your credit card in the 6 days following disasters such as this (NPR’s numbers on how soon before the donations will typically begin to wane)–although that is important too. For example, our stake made hygiene kits recently, which are incredibly useful after disasters such as this. We didn’t know this was coming, obviously, but I am wistfully hoping that perhaps one of the kits I put together is on its way to Haiti.
With my current calling in the Church, it’s mildly frustrating when I have overwhelming numbers to help out in the wake of an emergent situation, such as a hurricane, but 6 months later I can’t find enough people to fill a cannery or storehouse assignment. In the end, it all works towards the Church’s ability to respond in situations such as this.
I remember after Katrina and Rita, church volunteers from all over the world sent quilts and other items they had made. Haiti is going to need help for a long time. I think having the tactile experience of actually handling or even making something can help us to feel more connected. I think it will be important for us to listen for opportunities to provide this kind of help as the needs become clearer, in addition to sending funds immediately.
Comment by mpb — January 15, 2010 @ 4:28 pm
mpb- at many of the sites I listed links for, they allow for ongoing donations (similar to what was described in comment #4). I heard that thing on NPR too about fundraising dropping dramatically after six days, which sort of blew my mind. Six days after Hurricane Ike, I don’t think most of us even had had a chance to fully assess our damages, and I know that even with insurance and good resources, our house took months to get back in shape, and that was just a fence and a roof and a few other things. It will be years, decades before Haiti gets back to where it was.
Comment by Shelah — January 15, 2010 @ 4:34 pm
We gave a donation to Doctors without Borders. I also asked the older kids to contribute from their funds and one offered up $50 and the youngest $21.
Does anyone know if the church is offering help? I looked at a site that listed all the aid organizations in Haiti and, while Catholic Charities, Episcopalean Charities, Menonite Foundations and others were all listed, the LDS church wasn’t. Plus, on their web site, no where does it list a place to specifically donate to Haiti.
I would love to travel there with my 9 year old for a week and help but don’t know how/where to do that. Anyone have any ideas? I would happily take time off work and pay our own travel but I imagine ‘volunteers’ showing up wouldn’t work well. Are any organizations soliciting volunteers? I am Crisis Communications certified so I am thinking of contact the Red Cross to see if my skill set can be put to good use.
Comment by Lulubelle — January 15, 2010 @ 4:36 pm
Lulu, check here
http://www.ldsphilanthropies.org/
Comment by mpb — January 15, 2010 @ 4:41 pm
mpb: thanks for the link; I am so happy to see that the church is getting involved.
Comment by Lulubelle — January 15, 2010 @ 4:55 pm
I was reading at doctors without boarders and the things they needed were so specific and telling…they had 1000s of people waiting for surgery. They needed antibiotics to avoid infections and pain medication for all the unexpected surgeries. They are setting up tent hospitals. It was interesting to read the chruch is setting up a hospital in a church building.
I can’t afford to give in bursts either. I pay as I go and hope it helps. Unreal that 6 days is the end of most giving.
Comment by britt — January 15, 2010 @ 5:08 pm
I recommend UNICEF. An excellent organization that helps children in terrible places.
http://www.unicef.org
Comment by Dan — January 15, 2010 @ 5:21 pm
Lulubelle, the Red Cross only sends pre-trained volunteers to respond to international disasters. I believe on their web site there is information about how to be trained to respond to a future disaster. They are actually trying to develop expertise in telecommunications emergency response, so you might be a good fit. There are some organizations accepting volunteers right now, but in general most organizations prefer to use as many local people as possible and to buy as many supplies as possible locally. It’s more efficient and stimulates the local economy.
And I agree that it’s important to give all the time, not just after a disaster. There are a lot of ongoing crises, like famines, droughts, and floods in the Horn of Africa, and conflicts like in Congo and Sudan, that organizations like the Red Cross don’t get many donations for. At this point, I don’t think it’s likely that too much money will be raised for Haiti; about 1/3 of the population has lost their homes or been injured. But giving of our time and money on an ongoing basis to causes we feel are important–both local and global–is a really great thing to do.
Comment by Sofia — January 15, 2010 @ 5:37 pm
There’s a charity rating site that I really like called GiveWell. They are very stringent in how they rate charities for effectiveness and what percentage is going to those in need. They have a few articles on their website about disaster relief that are interesting to read, since it seems to go against what we feel when things like this happen:
I think as Katie P said, it’s better to be essentially plan ahead with our giving before disaster strikes so these charities do have the funds and capabilities to be there right away or to be set up in a way that they can be there long term for the rebuilding. My own opinion is that simply giving to a well-known, well-run charity that does have some presence already in Haiti is helpful, like the LDS humanitarian aid or Partners in Health, rather than maybe giving specifically to a Haiti disaster charity/fund.
Comment by de Pizan — January 15, 2010 @ 5:48 pm
Sorry about the links, they looked right before I posted that.
Comment by de Pizan — January 15, 2010 @ 5:49 pm
My kids want to help, so I’ve been trying to think of something they can do that is more meaningful to them than just watching me donate money online.
I’m thinking we might bake cookies and have the kids sell them around our neighborhood to raise money to donate.
Comment by Alliegator — January 15, 2010 @ 6:03 pm
The International Rescue Committee is another organization accepting donations.
https://www.theirc.org/donate/donate-now-haiti
For those of you Utah folks, Utah Valley University is in the process of planning a big fundraiser. Keep your eyes peeled for further info.
Comment by Kelly — January 15, 2010 @ 6:04 pm
I’d like to give a perspective from some one who has been to Haiti on humanitarian trips in the past. First…anything you can give to any of the already mentioned charities will make a difference, regardless of how small it may seem. Second..I’d like to suggest one more organization to donate to Healing Hands for Haiti. This is the group I have gone to Haiti with. They had (until Tuesday) a freestanding clinic along with multiple outreach programs dedicated to physical rehabilitation services (occupational therapy, physical therapy, speech therapy, prosthesis, etc) and are in the process of raising money to build a hospital specifically for the treatment of stroke and other neurological disorders/disease. You can donate to them at http://healinghandsforhaiti.org They are an organization that is a long term program with teams of therapists going multiple times a year from all over the United States and Canada. This organization works with other groups to help get equipment, etc. For example, they are a group the LDS Humanitarian center uses to help distribute the wheelchairs mentioned Melissa mentioned in #2
In response to #8–Lulubelle–Haiti is a very dangerous place in good times. I would not recommend going to Haiti now. In the future as things stabilize and with a very organized group, you might consider going. If you want your daughter to feel involved, I’d recommend checking out the various organizations listed and find things you can do here (making hygiene kits, gathering supplies) and help your daughter get involved that way.
It will take a miracle for Haiti to regain any semblance of order. Before the earthquake the streets were already filled with garbage and many buildings were already crumbling. The majority of the people have nothing and it is all some of them can do to have food and clean water for their family day to day. Many children are in orphanages due to abandonment and their families inability to care for them due to the extreme levels of poverty in the country. Some are simply there because their disabilities make it to hard for their families to care for them.
Anything we can do helps…even if it is praying and showing more gratitude for our own blessings.
Comment by Darcy — January 15, 2010 @ 8:06 pm
I read Mountains Beyond Mountains a few years ago and really enjoyed it.
I work at a very small private school and our students raised $500 to donate in two days. They were really enthusiastic about it.
Comment by Jill — January 15, 2010 @ 8:19 pm
D’oh! I wrote a post on Haiti, but I thought it would look silly to post it just a couple of hours after Shelah put hers up, so I’ll just leave it on my own blog.
For most of us, there’s only so much we can do, simply because of our geographical circumstances. There are few of us who can afford to fly out to the Caribbean to volunteer. And there probably aren’t too many of us who can afford to give enormous sums of money to the relief effort. But I think a big key to really responding to this catastrophe, which isn’t as much a natural disaster as it is an economic disaster, is to provide some consistent and long-term support to the organizations which are working to change those economic and social conditions–which FMH does through its support for and advocacy of Heifer Intl, for instance.
Comment by Derek — January 15, 2010 @ 8:21 pm
Mountains Beyond Mountains is a life-changing book. I highly recommend it as well.
We decided to donate through LDS Philanthropies. We also consider ourselves consistent contributors but I think extra assistance is always helpful in times of crises.
As for my boys, they are small so what we do do is talk to them about what is happening and what it likely means for kids their age in Haiti.
Could I do more? Yes. Should I do more? Yes. What does that say about me? Nothing good, I guess.
Comment by Lupita — January 15, 2010 @ 9:23 pm
Somewhat regarding #8 & #13…
We have a warning throughout the Puget Sound area of severe flooding in the Green River Valley. The Area President has sent out a letter to all wards encouraging us to take the available Red Cross training (and to also encourage our friends and neighbors to come with us). We had an enormous flood in the area last year, and many people, homes, and livestock were devestated. (I-5 was actually covered by 6 feet + of water in one spot.)
Just like you want to have your emergency supplies & 72Hour Kit ready for such emergencies, you should also take the necessary training to be able to help in potential disasters. Sure beats wringing your hands, no?
If we had a severe earthquake here (which we could), our condo would not be inhabitable. It’s important for me to know that in the case of a disaster, I am prepared to give my family what they need, and be able to assist my neighbors.
Speaking of that, it’s time to renew my First Aid Certification…
Comment by ErinAnn — January 15, 2010 @ 9:27 pm
I am officially fasting with a friend from midnight on Sunday morning until breakfast on Monday. So 24+ hours. We’re going to ask people to donate to relief efforts, as “sponsors” for us.
I was talking to a Haitian coworker of mine today. He has already confirmed that a brother-in-law and cousin have died. So heartbreaking. From his experience, he said the organizations that are the most visible and wide-reaching in Haiti are the Red Cross and the Salvation Army. He said donations to those groups would be very good.
Will any of you contribute to sponsoring me for this?
I’d also warmly welcome anyone to join in the fast, and gather sponsors yourself. If you are facebook friends with me, or on my email list, you might be getting another message about this as well.
FWIW, there is also a nation-wide fast for immigrant rights going on right now. If you choose to fast for that as well, just drop a line to your senator telling them you’ve done so.
Happy hunger, folks.
Comment by Natalie K. — January 15, 2010 @ 9:35 pm
Natalie, I commend you for your effort and willingness to serve, but I am really uncomfortable about someone being sponsored with money to fast. At the bare minimum it is wrong both spiritually and morally, and at the highest, I can’t even put it into words. Truly it is shocking and really, appalling. I don’t want to hurt your feelings, but this just isn’t right. I would highly discourage anyone to do something like this or ask for donations in accvordance to personal fast and/or prayer. Please direct your efforts in a different way, ie bakesale, benefit concert, walk, etc. There are plenty of great ideas for raising funds, but this is NOT one of them.
Comment by anon — January 16, 2010 @ 12:28 am
Agreed. It feels asking for donations to names on the prayer rolls.
Comment by katie P. — January 16, 2010 @ 1:14 am
…….
You realize I am not asking for money for myself, right?
I’m not exactly the first person to do this. If you have a problem with people fasting for specific reasons that they want others to respond to…… maybe you could look up the history on Gandhi or Cesar Chavez. I realize this is different than the spiritual, inner-focused fast we do at the beginning of every month This isn’t “a personal fast and prayer” for personal regeneration. It’s a social fast, designed to highlight the importance of the issue to other people. I guess I can see that it’s different than the traditional LDS notion of fasting…. but morally and spiritually appalling? Wow. Didn’t see that one coming.
Comment by Natalie K. — January 16, 2010 @ 1:22 am
I think fasting is a good idea. It’s a way to feel some small bit of solidarity with the hungry thirsty victims, to share their burden just a bit, and generate money to help them. People who are unable to fast themselves can give money to acknowledge others’ efforts, and multiply their effects. It seems like a win-win situation to me.
There’s no sense in seeing wrong where people are doing their best to do right. Consider the motivation. Nobody is trying to glorify themselves or gain anything from doing this. They’re just trying to help. It seems like it would be more helpful to choose a positive path for doing one’s own part rather than criticize others’ choices. Doesn’t it?
What I did myself, so far, is give to the church’s humanitarian emergency fund. I love that the church provides all the logistics from other funds such as tithing, so that every dollar given goes to the victims. I also plan to fast a few extra days this month, and donate the savings for that. It feels so much more personal than just giving money.
It’s so great to see the efforts of the world pulling together to help out the people who have suffered so much devastation. I get a charge out of hearing how much money was generated so quickly by social networking sites. I love to hear how new software helps in coordinating rescue and relief efforts, and how online missing person lists and survivor lists are helping families cope. I foresee a google-earth-like system in which needs after a disaster can be communicated rapidly to the world and each relief agency or worker can mark off what items they’re planning to cover, what they can provide, and where. Then when each need is fulfilled, the worker can mark it as filled, or mark what additional help is required. There’s no reason why we shouldn’t be able to rapidly assess and coordinate everyone’s needs and resources online to produce an optimum outcome.
It seems like transportation could be coordinated this way, as well. Why can’t we simply begin evacuating people out of the area in each aid-bearing plane, ship, or helicopter to staging areas where there’s room and infrastructure to handle them? Why aren’t heavy equipment and operators available at a moment’s notice to be dropped onto the ground anywhere in the world and rescue survivors in the crucial first 24 hours after a quake? It’s an engineering problem, a systems analysis problem. It can be solved. Why don’t we solve it?
It’s particularly excruciating to be watching from afar knowing thousands of people are probably trapped and slowly dying, and being unable to help. We can do a lot better than this, can’t we?
Shouldn’t we be able instantly to put cell-phone networks into emergency mode, perhaps with some relay equipment dropped in by air? Then the each live phone can be used to send a quick signal indicating the location of a person in need? I’m not familiar enough with communications technology to make the best suggestions but many other engineers can do that. Why don’t we start setting systems like this in place?
I could take in one family of displaced Haitians for a few months here. There should be a site where I can volunteer the availability of my home for that, and where someone else, maybe an airline can volunteer to transport them here. Then U.S. customs and immigration could approve it on the same site and issue the family’s emergency visas. A schedule could be proposed and accepted, and the project accomplished in days or even hours. If we had the technology in place to do this, we could each do our small part and these huge disasters, these enormous problems, could be dissolved away quickly in a spontaneous and manageable process.
Let’s do it! I’ll head the group who designs and implements the system if someone else will fund it.
Comment by Tatiana — January 16, 2010 @ 8:49 am
I think anyone’s problem with the idea of fasting with sponsors, is the wording.
Fasting, and asking others to donate money to a good cause- no problem.
Fasting and asking people for money sounds a little bit like “I’ll give you $20 for 1 meal, $100 for 24 hours….” - kind of weird.
Comment by Alliegator — January 16, 2010 @ 10:17 am
My in-laws in on a mission in the dominican republic, and we found out that my FIL is helping to drive a group of Dr’s to Haiti today (I guess it takes 48 hours or something to get there), and then once he leaves them at the border, he has no idea if they’ll be needed for anything else, to help, or bring people back to the DR with them.
Comment by Alliegator — January 16, 2010 @ 10:19 am
We have had several plane loads of evacuated Americans come through our base in the past 36 hours. There have also been Haitian families with US visas that have been evacuated as well. These folks had to leave the majority of their luggage behind and arrived here with shorts, sandals, etc. My husband left very early in the morning to go support the relief operation on the base and from his report, I decided to focus on jackets, shoes and toys. We actually had one little 2-yr old arrive wrapped only in a blanket!
My children had heard about the earthquake, didn’t fully understand, but had heard about what had happened. I was able to allow them to contribute some of their books, stuffed animals, new boxes of crayons, and toys to these children who arrived with nothing. Because we were delivering supplies, we actually got to see some of the children playing with our toys or wearing one of the coats we dropped off. I am really hopeful that my girls realize their service had an impact on those children. It has been very rewarding to see our personal donations and the ones from our ward be of use to people affected by this disaster. We feel like we have been able to contribute where we felt very helpless before.
We got a few more plane loads this morning and my girls were quite disappointed that Dad wasn’t going to let them go with him to help!
Comment by Barb — January 16, 2010 @ 11:16 am
I realize you are not *keeping* the money but asking for donations to charity…and I still feel the same way. Fasting just doesn’t work that way. I don’t think it should be treated as a social “get attention for a cause” event. To simply ask people to fast and put their concentrated efforts together, yes, thats fine. To use fasting as a way to garner donations, I don’t agree with it. AT ALL. It doesn’t matter if its for a “good cause”. I do appreciate the motivation, but its just not right IMO. There are plenty of other things to do to raise money for causes, and I don’t think its appropriate to use fasting as one of them. It almost makes it seem like a game.
I seriously cannot imagine any Bishop being okay with something like this. And to hear that a lot of people do it is appalling to me (I’ve never heard of such a thing). It just really seems that these people don’t understand the principle or sacredness of fasting. I suppose when its seen as just “being hungry” once a month, it would be easy to brush it off as no biggie, but it IS. I guess I can see where someone would get this idea when usually we are admonished to fast, and then in the same breath to “give whatever money we would’ve spent on food to fast offering”.
Comment by anon — January 16, 2010 @ 2:53 pm
anon, you still haven’t explained WHY you think my actions are so morally repugnant to you. And you are making it painfully obvious that you have a very narrow, LDS-defined view of fasting, an activity that has been engaged in for different spiritual/social reasons for centuries and centuries by cultures all over the world. You do not have a monopoly on the sacredness, or meaning, of fasting. I think consecrating a fast to actually bring about tangible benefits for some of God’s children makes it even more sacred.
But thanks for trying to play the bishop-disapproval card to stop me. Much appreciated.
Comment by Natalie K. — January 16, 2010 @ 3:47 pm
I recognize that the majority of folks on FMH are LDS, and I’m sure you have ways to give through your church, but for those that are looking for something your children can do, you might want to consider making health kits to be distributed through the United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR). UMCOR is the relief arm of the United Methodist Church and is set up so that 100% of all contributions go to the relief cause for which it is given (other church giving covers administrative costs). In addition to money, UMCOR also distributes health kits in times of disaster. These kits include a washcloth, hand towel, soap, toothbrush, comb, and a few other items. For children, it provides something concrete that they can do to help those effected by the disaster.
UMCOR already had a field office in Haiti, so they will be able to respond fairly quickly. In fact, the head of UMCOR for the entire UMC was at a meeting at the Hotel Montana when the earthquake hit, and unfortunately did not survive.
Anyway, UMCOR has put out a call for Health Kits to be sent to Haiti, so if you are interested here is a link that tells how to assemble the kits and where to send them. (Many United Methodist Churches will be assembling the kits, so it is likely you could just leave them at your closest UMC to include with their shipment. For those of you in the Salt Lake City area, UMCOR has a supply depot at 1478 South 700 West, Salt Lake City, 84104, that you could leave health kits at.)
Here is a link on information for assembling a health kit:
http://new.gbgm-umc.org/umcor/getconnected/supplies/health-kit/
Comment by UMC — January 16, 2010 @ 5:17 pm
My *small* contribution so far has been to write to my senator asking him to intervene and petition for all the Haitian orphans in limbo in the adoption process to obtain humanitarian visas. From what I’ve heard many of the orphanages are OK, but there are big problems with food/water situations.
Comment by sare — January 16, 2010 @ 5:44 pm
I can tell you why it is repulsive: fasting is a spiritual activity between you and God. You are commoditizing it. It is exactly like selling your prayers. It doesn’t matter where the money is going, it is wrong to sell spiritual experiences.
Add that the usual “spnsor” things are games (races) and competitions, and it turning what should be a spiritual experience into a venal game. You might as well plaster a corporate logo on a baptismal font.
Comment by katie P. — January 16, 2010 @ 5:58 pm
I can tell you why it is repulsive: fasting is a spiritual activity between you and God. You are commoditizing it. It is exactly like selling your prayers. It doesn’t matter where the money is going, it is wrong to sell spiritual experiences.
Add that the usual “spnsor” things are games (races) and competitions, and it is corrupting what should be a spiritual experience into a venal game. You might as well plaster a corporate logo on your temple dress.
Comment by katie P. — January 16, 2010 @ 5:59 pm
There are,of course, charities who were on the ground previous to the earthquake with an existing infrastructure,so it can be more efficient to work through these,although often less gratifying.I think sometimes we have to think about what is most important.
I have a dear neighbour who has set up a landing sale of all her kids junk and is donating 50 per cent of the proceeds.I can see that this is a direct way of involving her kids,but it may just be more efficient to give the cash asap.
And as for the fast,how on earth can it not be a sacred experience to feed the poor,however it’s done.Here in the UK a major charity have a sponsored fast on a yearly basis,and make many of the arguments for fasting that we make.The world is full of beautiful people doing amazing things.Some of them are Mormons.
My daughter is currently working for a charity who have not spent sufficiently on their admin,and so can’t account to their donors.It’s been an interesting lesson in reality.
Comment by wayfarer — January 16, 2010 @ 6:05 pm
I see nothing wrong with fasting for a good cause. If the fasting is done as a means of spiritually seeking the welfare of those in need in times of hardship, no one would likely bat an eye. If there is the added benefit of gaining monetary contributions to that welfare, it suddenly becomes wrong? I don’t think so.
Mahatma Gandhi refined fasting for a mixed political and spiritual cause to a high art form. If his fasting would have caused other people to send monetary aid, food, or other tangible forms of help to all the starving, needy “untouchables” of his beloved India, I’m sure he would have welcomed such an outcome.
There are all kinds of fasts and all kinds of reasons for fasting. The fact that someone is fasting for a reason which you would not fast does not mean they are violating a divine code of morality.
Comment by Lorian — January 16, 2010 @ 6:07 pm
Wow, Katie P. The idea of skipping food is what her fast is about. Just as the church teaches that your fast shoild have a purpose, she can choose it’s purpose to be outward. She is focusing on the physical aspect and it’s the same as a walk-a-thon. She’s using her physical body to benefit others. Should I not pay a fast offering if I haven’t fasted? Do I need to cut my donation back to the cost of my meal? Is a hunger strike the same as a fast?
Your condemnation is rediculous.
Comment by ErinAnn — January 16, 2010 @ 6:18 pm
Or, maybe these people elect to view it from another perspective and never realized they had to consult someone else on what constitutes a personal spiritual experience.
Comment by Kimberly — January 16, 2010 @ 6:53 pm
Lots of people use fasting as a method for sponsorship. Schools in my area run a “30 hour famine” where students spend the night in the gym, learn about world hunger, and raise money from the community, as well as raise awareness. The money goes to various hunger-related charities. Prayer, religion etc. has nothing to do with it, and nothing to do with many fasts. Are you going to write to these students of many different faiths (or no faith at all) and tell them how wrong and blasphemous their highly effective means of raising much needed money is? Or perhaps the teachers and organizers to tell them that the solidarity these privileged kids develop and demonstrate with their less fortunate brothers and sisters is appalling?
I can’t believe the LDS-centric horror at Natalie’s fast. We don’t have a monopoly on the meaning of not eating, or the use of the concept of fasting.
Natalie - your idea is awesome. Your show of solidarity adds so much more to your donation. Thanks for doing it.
Comment by Emma — January 16, 2010 @ 7:02 pm
Fasting is not necessarily a private, individual experience. This is why we have fast Sundays. As in the Old Testament, the experience is a communal one, in which a community approaches God together in public. It’s intended to remind us that God sees us as a collective as much as he sees us as individuals.
That said, regardless of Katie’s opinion of Natalie’s plans, the least she could have done is recognized - as did anon, 24 - that Natalie’s intentions are noble and good, regardless of what Katie thinks of her methods. Rather, Katie began to use spurious comparisons (fasting and asking for donations to a charitable third party is hardly the same as vending advertising space for profit on a sacred space, and using the term ’sell’ here is probably inaccurate) and inflammatory language like ‘repulsive.’ It’s those things rather than Katie’s positions which will probably draw blacklash and retaliation in kind, like ErinAnn’s. Let’s not send this spiraling into a firefight, folks.
Comment by rip — January 16, 2010 @ 7:14 pm
fasting can be done in so many ways. Through all my babies nad nursing I’ve always fasted…it’s just that many times it was not a traditional 24 hour fast. Sometimes it was simplifying the meals for the day-setting aside a time to pray and fast (albeit 2 hours). I used to withold sugar for the day…we always paid fast offerings for everyone in the family even when dad was the only one fasting. We’ve always taught our children that praying was the most important part of the day.
People fast to cleanse their bodies, control their bodies with their spirits, show their support for a cause, or better understand poverty… we don’t in anyway have the corner on the market of fasting.
Comment by britt — January 16, 2010 @ 7:47 pm
I’m in favor of anyone fasting…it develops self control and helps us understand the difference between needs and wants.
Comment by britt — January 16, 2010 @ 7:50 pm
We have given to Doctors without Borders and Oxfam America. Both have been active in Haiti before the earthquake and can be trusted to be there well afterward.
Dw/oB is a French organization alto medical personnel of many countries are involved in the effort. But as a French organization they will be adequately staffed with people who are fluent in French and can communicate effectively with Haitian people.
Oxfam is non-sectarian. It’s made up of relief professionals.
Both organizations have the highest rating for effectiveness and for turning resources into direct aid. It’s sad that the LDS makes no accounting.
Comment by Withheld — January 16, 2010 @ 8:31 pm
NPR played sound clips from Miep Gies, who’s family hid Anne Frank (she died at age 100). She said something that really resonated with me. It went something like. . . many people say that I am a brave person for doing what I did, but I’m not. When you call me brave it will make people think that they have to be an extraordinary person to do a brave thing, so they will not do the brave thing realizing that they are just ordinary. Ordinary people can do brave things.
Ordinary people can donate a little to Haiti. Ordinary people can do a little to contribute to relief. You don’t have to be rich or talented.
Comment by lache — January 16, 2010 @ 8:34 pm
Thanks for the backup, folks.
Comment by Natalie K. — January 16, 2010 @ 8:52 pm
I donated a little, and it seemed like really not enough and I could not do more right now. So I realized the great resource I have is my network of family and friends, and I did this: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=280524262385&ref=mf. Everyone is welcome to join up, and spread the word, please.
Comment by Ana — January 16, 2010 @ 9:04 pm
Wow, I didn’t read all the comments and didn’t realize there was controversy about fasting for this cause. There’s more than one kind of fast, and what Natalie is doing is fantastic.
Comment by Ana — January 16, 2010 @ 9:09 pm
Yeah, right on
Comment by cchrissyy — January 16, 2010 @ 9:14 pm
What about getting financial “blessings” for paying tithing? I could argue that ones motives are not so pure when they just pay tithing to get financial blessings. Also I can think of many “My BIshop” crap!I think what Natalie is doing is so wonderful. I think different perspectives on the world is a beautiful thing. Lets just focus on the tragedy at hand.
Comment by cz — January 16, 2010 @ 10:49 pm
Ana! That’s awesome!!
Here’s our event:
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=278633587754&ref=mf
I’d love to see some of you there! The fast starts tonight at midnight (pacific time?).
Comment by Natalie K. — January 16, 2010 @ 11:53 pm
And, btw, another awesome example of a fast that is aimed at bringing about social change:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jane-guskin/a-new-immigrant-revolutio_b_415731.html
Comment by Natalie K. — January 17, 2010 @ 12:19 am
My employer, Adobe, not only donated $50K, they are matching employee contributions 2:1 — grateful to be working for such a company
Comment by Rich — January 17, 2010 @ 10:35 am
I love the idea of fasting for a good cause. I hate the idea turning fasting into a competition. So much for not praying on streetcorners.
Comment by Katie P. — January 17, 2010 @ 10:47 am
I consider fasting and prayer to be sacred space. It’s the direct “sponsors” part that feels wrong. What about fasting and asking people to donate on their own? Why the competition?
Comment by Katie P. — January 17, 2010 @ 10:50 am
As Natalie mentioned, there are many different kinds of fasting, many of which have nothing to do with anything sacred or spiritual. I’ve frequently been advised before going in for checkups or medical procedures to fast 24 hours before. Is that sacred space?
Comment by Derek — January 17, 2010 @ 11:57 am
Katie P. - While I still do not agree with your very narrow definition of fasting, I think you have misunderstood my intentions from the beginning. Who said anything about a competition??
Comment by Natalie K. — January 17, 2010 @ 12:21 pm
re: 40 “Or, maybe these people elect to view it from another perspective and never realized they had to consult someone else on what constitutes a personal spiritual experience.”
Go Kimberly.
Ghandi fasted to stop conflict between muslims and hindi, and to gain independence for India. Chavez fasted to stop farmworkers and their families from being abused and mistreated as they picked our food. Fasting as a means to draw help and attention to social causes is a longstanding tradition, just as is fasting for health reasons.
What’s not spiritual about helping our brothers and sisters in need? What is Godly about finding such “love thy neighbor” activity “repulsive”?
Good grief. Lord preserve us from sanctimonious gatekeepers who would disallow ANY thoughts and actions of compassion.
re the original query (what are we doing), I added another big box of canned goods to the local food pantry yesterday, on the theory that one hungry mouth was, perhaps, much the same as another.
Comment by Betty Jo — January 17, 2010 @ 12:53 pm
Someone here came up with the idea to donate to LDS Humanitarian Services. I’m sure it’s not unique.
Here: http://www.ldsphilanthropies.org/humanitarian-services/lds-haiti-2010.html
Comment by Velska — January 17, 2010 @ 1:30 pm
[…] With that in mind, here are links to places that can help (hat tip to Shelah): […]
Pingback by Blog Segullah : Haiti — January 18, 2010 @ 10:13 am
Katie–Do you remember the big Ethiopians famine in the 80s? As I recall, the church did a special fast–separate from our regular fast Sunday–and we all donated specifically for the famine relief based on that fast. So—there is a well established tradition within the church of fasting to raise money for a cause like this. But maybe your view is that we all ought to make our donations individually, rather than through Kimberly?? Is that what your objection is?
Comment by cms — January 18, 2010 @ 1:05 pm
Sending the right items, the right way is very important:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/34958965/ns/world_news-haiti_earthquake
Disaster do-gooders can actually hinder help
Uninvited volunteers, useless donations can cost money, time — and lives
Excerpt:
I also remember the news about a sporting goods company donating cleated golf shoes during the African/Ethiopian famine around 1984.
Comment by Mike H. — January 21, 2010 @ 12:52 pm