Heidi

We've been talking about Haiti to Lucy. She calls it "Heidi".
It's hard to know exactly what to tell her.
We said the ground shook, and that made buildings fall down, which hurt people.
She said, "I don't like earthquakes, so they're going to stay far away from me."
We told her that they do happen around here (it seemed unwise to say otherwise, seeing as we live in California), but that our house is strong, and would be okay. We told her what to do if there is an earthquake.
We told her our houses are stronger because people here have more money than in Haiti. That God has given us more than we need, so we need to share what we have with people, like those in Haiti, who don't have as much.

Every question of hers ,every explanation I try to give opens another rabbit hole of reality about the world. Not so much for her--she doesn't need to know how full of pitfalls this world is--but more for me. Reminding me how much injustice there is that we are implicated in. How we can protect her from natural disasters only up to a certain point. How little control we have over what happens to us all.

I am trying to trust God to take care of the people in Haiti, and to be present no matter our circu
mstances. I ache for the mothers in Haiti who have not been able to protect their kids.

If you're looking for a proven charity to donate to, you might consider Partners in Health. They have been in Haiti since the 80s, and most of their staff is native to Haiti. PIH was designated by the World Health Organization to serve as the coordinators of the public hospital, Hopital de l' Universite d'Etat d'Haiti (HUEH), where thousands are suffering in need of medicines and surgeries.
Here's the site PIH set up for donations for Haiti.