When it became clear that Matthew was headed to Haiti and the Caribbean I was flooded with a sense of dread. How much more can they withstand? Why does this always happen? They have just started their wonderful garden project and all the work done this month will be lost.
But my real sense of dread came when I got an email about how the partnership was going to reach out to our loyal donors and ask for emergency funding. I was instantly flooded with a term I had heard about a year ago, “Haiti fatigue.” Oh no. We are going to hear that again. People are going to be tired of us always asking for funding. We had worked so hard on the garden project to show that we are trying to do good development practice and not just respond to emergencies. I was heartsick.
I left the house and went out for a walk. I needed to get away from the computer and my incessant need to “check the path of the storm.” As if that was doing any good.
While walking I began to get out of my head and I began to think about a bible verse, “Truly I tell you whatever you did for the least of these brothers and sisters, you did for me,” Oddly enough that comes from the book of Matthew.
That, I realized, is why we cannot get fatigued. None of us have any control over the incidence of our birth. A soul comes into this world and they live and die where they are born for the most part. Haiti is positioned on one of the largest faults in the world. They are positioned in Hurricane Alley of the Caribbean. They freed themselves from slavery and formed the first sovereign colony by people of color and have suffered economically for it for generations. They are a dignified people who work hard to make a life for their families.
We are in Haiti because we feel called to be with God’s good people who are suffering for whatever reason.
So, once again, we come to you to help us continue our loving response to the people of La Gonave. To support our efforts to educate, feed, and employ people who work under the most difficult circumstances, and still face each day with courage, good will, and grace. We cannot afford to become weary of their plight. I could find no bible verse that allows us to get too tired to help the least of these.
As always, thank you for your continued support for the work on La Gonave. As of yesterday it appears we will not be out of work anytime soon. We appreciate your generosity and will work to keep you updated on the response to this, another humanitarian disaster.
Thank you for your help!
Deb Griffin
For the Partnership