Haiti Revisited

So last summer (2010) we went on a cruise. We had a great time.

One of the places we stopped was in Labadee, Haiti. It's a private beach where the ship comes in and everyone from the biggest boat in the world (yes, really) gets off the ship to enjoy the beauty and splendor that is Haiti. Luxury. Extravagance.

Wait.

Haiti. Yeah. There was a tremendous earthquake there early in 2010. Shortly after the cruise line anticipated the questions and concerns of people who were planning vacations including a stop on the island later in the year. I did not keep the email we received but the gist of it was that we need not worry. In the months after the earthquake the cruise line would be helping the people of Haiti to recover. They said the cruise line played an important part in helping the nation recover to where it was before. As a matter of fact, every ship that stopped on the island would be delivering needed supplies and equipment.

That all sounds good, right?

Maybe. But then today I read this article about Peanut Butter Medicine and realize that it's a bunch of baloney.

Every day there are kids and families suffering on that island because they don't have what they need. Not because they don't get to join the soccer team, or because they don't have an iPod or the right shoes. They are dying because they don't have a place to live. They don't have food. It makes me sick to my stomach.

The area where the ship lands is on the far opposite side of the island from where the earthquake hit. There was no damage there. Other than the wounded spirits of the people.

While we were in Haiti we took a tour of the area with a local guide. He KNEW his country's history. He KNEW more about Haiti than Jon and I probably knew together about US history. It was amazing to listen to him talk about his country and hear the obvious pride in his nation and it's people.

He told us about his family and where he sleeps at night. He told us how he and the men of his family live away from the women. The women stay in the city so the kids can go to school. The men live close to the area where the ship lands so that they can work and send money back to the city so the kids can go to school.

This is the part that really got me. The cruise line gives the men a loan in the beginning of the season (or school year) so that they have enough to pay for school. Then, get this, the men work to pay off the loan. Think about that a minute.

Sounds like indentured servitude to me.

Again, while we were on the island, we contributed significantly to the local economy. If you've ever been on a trip like this you know it's hard not to. The people in the market will literally grab you to pull you into their stand to look at what they are selling. They literally competed for our dollars. I don't find it fun.

I bought a necklace. The one I really wanted broke when I picked it up. So I bought another I thought Sarah would like.

I bought a couple small pieces of art. They've since gone to Goodwill.

I bought Sarah a small doll. Because it was cute and I wanted to spend some money with the guy in that vendor space. He was nice and didn't grab me.

Ya know, I'm not really sure how to wrap up this rant, other than to say that I know God is at work in Haiti. I know God is at work in the lives of everyone working at the cruise line. I know God is at work in the lives of everyone traveling on cruises.

I would really love to see the cruise lines pay the workers appropriately. They should pay a wage that would allow the people to live well and to pay for school. They shouldn't pay in a way so that the people are indebted to them. That sucks all around.

And - I really would love to know that things were getting better in Haiti almost two years after the horrible earthquake that killed hundreds of thousands of people. I'm sure there are pockets of improvement.

If you'll excuse me, I'm going to go look for those articles now. I'll find some and post them later this week.

Communication

When you want to communicate information to someone how do you go about it? Do you send a letter in the mail without putting the appropriate address on it? Do you pick up the phone and dial some random numbers and hope you'll get the right person to answer?

Um, no. When you want to talk to me, you call my number. Or you send me an email. You don't just put the information out there in the universe and hope that it will filter down to the people who need it.

So, my question for today is, why do organizations think that putting notices in local newspapers is an appropriate way to get information out to people? "Because that's the way we've always done it" is my guess. Because that's what's mandated by law.

Well guess what. Many, many, many people are not reading newspapers any more. Or if we are, we're reading the online version. We're not receiving our information the way we used to. It's time for public entities to catch up and focus their information sharing so it gets to the intended receiver.

Case in point - local school districts. (School City Mishawaka, I'm looking at you.) Every year they ask for my email address. We've been in the system for eight years now. They have yet to use it. I do communicate with my kid's teachers via email, always only after I contact them first.

Also, our school sends home a newsletter twice a month. Why can't these notices be included in the newsletter?

Example number two - Indiana Department of Transportation. A neighbor received a letter at her work addressed to "Dear Concerned Citizens, Local Residents, and Elected Officials" regarding the SR331 Capital Avenue project about a public meeting happening this week. Apparently practically living in the construction zone for seven years now has not qualified us as "local residents." I beg to differ. I called the number on the letter and asked to be added to the mailing list for this specific project.

But seriously, they know the addresses of the residents in the vicinity. Why wouldn't they send letters to us all directly? Saving stamps? Give me a break. "We did put the notice in the newspapers." Yes, the woman on the phone said that. I do my best to simply ignore that statement now. It's not good enough.

Communication can't be just one way. It must actually be received to be effective.

You just got pwned!

Ok, so, my boys love to play online games. Their current most favorite is World of Warcraft.

Jon and I created a single account to share so that we could play with them and better understand what in the world they were talking about when we called them to dinner and they said "But Mom! I'm in a dungeon!"

Honestly, our account is currently inactive because since I started my business I don't have time to play. The nice thing is that our characters live on and when we want to re-activate our account (resume paying the monthly subscription fee) we can pick up right where we left off.

I've been listening and learning quite a bit this week about author Jane McGonigal. Her new book is called Reality is Broken and I currently have it on hold at Barnes and Noble to pick up tonight so you'll have to hang tight for a review.

She has some crazy ideas (and we all know how much I love those, right?) about how gaming is good for us and that through gaming we can actually work together to solve some really huge problems. Her TED talk is here. I watched it last night and it really made me think differently about the time my kids spend online.

All that having been said, what if we could create a real life game for every day living? An iPhone app created by a group McGonigal works with is called EpicWin.


"EpicWin is an iPhone app that puts the adventure back into your life. It’s a streamlined to-do list, to quickly note down all your everyday tasks, but with a role-playing spin. (from the developers website here)"


I downloaded this app today to start "playing" so I'll let you know how that goes. But more importantly, I want to start thinking about a way to create a game in real life. One where the boys will earn points for things like brushing their teeth, one where they'll earn experience points for doing their homework, and for completing chores. 


I guess there should be ways to lose experience points, too; such as arguing with a parent, hitting each other, or failing to complete an agreed upon task. Of course, some activities are neutral as well. 


Ok, I'm kind of geek so this is starting to sound like fun to me. Now I just have to figure out how to make it work. What do you think? What would your kids call their game? How should I dole out experience points or remove them?


Now to sell it to the boys. Wish me luck!

What would you do with $100M?

So Meg Whitman spent well over $100,000,000 of her own fortune to try to win the California governor's race. She lost. I guess it's nice to have millions of dollars to just throw away, eh? Perhaps she doesn't see it as having thrown it away. Maybe she feels there's still value in having run. Maybe she's right. I really don't know.

Here are some of my thoughts on how I would have preferred to invest over $100,000,000.

• Give one million dollars each to one hundred school systems.
• Sponsor a whole bunch of kids through Compassion International.
• Fund some food pantries.
• Support some literacy programs.
• Offer bonuses to the highest performing teachers in the state.
• Send some kids to college who can't go otherwise. (Name a scholarship after yourself)
• Finance The Rhema Project.

Yeah, that's what I would do. There would certainly be books involved in my plans. If you had over $100,000,000 to spend or invest or throw away however you chose, what would you do with it?

You know, maybe Meg has done some of these things or similar. I really don't know. I just heard the sound bite as to how much she had spent and had this very visceral reaction to how much money she had spent on a losing campaign. I wonder what's next? Now that she's not going to be spending her time as governor of California, how will she be spending her time? And how will she spend her next $100,000,000?

What If . . . ?

What if . . . we didn't go back to the ways we've always done things?
What if . . . we all lived in houses we could afford?
What if . . . we all spent less money than we made?
What if . . . we supported our local economies rather than buying everything cheaply at Wal Mart?
What if . . . we bought food from local farmers who grow produce and meat using truly sustainable methods?
What if . . . I use all of the craft supplies I have in my house before I go to buy more?
What if . . . I use all of the food in the cupboard before I go to buy more?
What if . . . we grow gardens in our yards, thereby requiring that less lawn be mowed?
What if . . . we all used manual lawn mowers?
What if . . . we all let the rain water our lawns?
What if . . . some of the currently unemployed were able to pursue creative careers?
What if . . . medicine focused on wellness rather than sickness?
What if . . . there was a grocery store I could walk to?

I'm just sayin'.