French Friday + Week 20

I’ve been struggling with something new to do this week. I was going to cop out and write about the peach festival J.D. and I went to earlier. But I’ve been to festivals before, that didn’t feel right. I literally didn’t know what to do.

Until I watched an old episode of No Reservations on my DVR. I’d started watching one on Haiti a few days ago and finally got around to finishing it this afternoon. I literally cannot tell you what I saw. It’s devastating and immense and beautiful all at the same time. It didn’t feel right watching all of that without doing anything. Seriously, I urge you to watch that episode if you haven’t yet.

Anyways, as a French speaker, I’ve always been drawn to Haiti. The French Caribbean is something I’ve marked as a travel destination for a long time. And the ironic part is that I would have been placed in Haiti if I went through with my Peace Corps application almost two years ago. I would have been there (maybe not Port au Prince, but somewhere on the island) in January 2010. It is inconceivable for me to think about what volunteers were doing there before vs. after the earthquake.

Which is why I can’t just sit back after watching that episode. One of the things I wanted to do in 2011 was make a donation to an organization. I’m pulled in a thousand directions: cancer research, feeding the homeless, donating to Japanese earthquake relief, supporting international efforts, helping out people in my own state… and that’s just the tip of the iceberg. It’s overwhelming to think about who all needs help, and all the work still left to do in the world.

But like I said, after watching and hearing about J/PHRO (Haitian Relief Organization) over a year after the earthquake, I knew that was my start. Now I know I’ve griped about money issues a ton, but I live comfortably and have basically everything I want. Some of these people don’t have homes or food on their plates every day. I could scrounge up a little from my pocket to send their way for the time being. One day, when I have more money, I would certainly like to make charitable donations to a few organizations. Until then, this will have to do.

I just don’t know why it’s taken me 26 years to make my first donation. If you’re interested, you could help too. Maybe not to J/PHRO, but a charity near you (check that link for a searchable database of nonprofits or this one for a list of the larger international charities).

I know it’s not much, but it’s a start. Thanks for hearing me out.