Reach

The Honores were so quiet. His taxi was in the driveway and looked like it hadn't moved all day. I imagine the work day was spent on the phones and web trying to find out if their family members were alive. Alda (aboves) lips quivered as she shared that her brother was paralyzed and cared for by his mother, and that they lived in an apartment building in Carrefour, just outside of Port au Prince. When I was at their house they were among the many families who could not pick up any communication with family and loved ones in Haiti. The wire reports and the stunning images from Haiti were in my mind as I sat with them. They were very sweet people and showed my photos of their mothers. I gave them some web addresses the Red Cross gave us for linking families together and then left to go visit another family for a similar story.

After arriving at the Wardle's home, 3 year old Nyah (above) wouldn't stop rubbing the bald spot on my head, laughing and continuing despite soft scolds from her mother Hollie (above). Hollie and her husband Jeremy have six children, 2 biological, 3 adopted (two of which are Haitian) and one more Haitian daughter whose visa was to be stamped the day following the earthquake. After nearly 2 years of processing and waiting the Wardles were finally ready to welcome the newest member of their family from the same creche that Nyah and her brother Roben came from. Now the day is filled with telephone calls trying to locate their daughter and do what they can for the remotely located orphanage which is dire need of assistance following the quake.

I imagined how it would be if I was living somewhere else watching news reports of my home and people in shambles. It was clear that it was more than just a news report for Daniel Cameau as he held his son William close and watched the news on his computer in his basement. Daniel also originally from the Port au Prince area had yet to reach any family members either. I imagine these are among thousands of similar stories across the globe. As I drove home after work I thought about the reach that an event has, and how with the results of globalization, it seems like now there isn't an event or calamity in the world is an island, localized only where it takes place. After meeting these families, reading the news reports and seeing the photographs from Haiti, I am grateful that globalization and the media has brought things closer to us. I was at a telethon this morning for the Red Cross International Response Fund, and they had raised nearly $50,000 by 10 am. If you are interested in the telethon line, feel free to visit www.connect2utah.com. It is the website of the CBS affiliate here in SL that is organizing the fundraiser with the Red Cross.
Late yesterday Alda Honore called me and told me that miraculously all her and her husbands family were alive. Their homes had been destroyed but they had survived.