Burn Advocates Network Offers Hope to Survivors

This week I had the good pleasure of meeting Attorney Samuel Davis, a New Jersey/New York area personal injury attorney. Sam is notable as the original founder of Davis, Saperstein & Salomon, P.C., a personal injury law firm representing those injured due to accidents, negligence, medical malpractice, and defective products (in laymen's terms, products that sicken, injure or kill people). Of even greater human interest is a new non-profit organization that Davis founded, Burn Advocates Network which exists to support burn survivors of any age--youth, military combat veterans, and senior citizens through the post-accident recovery, rehabilitation, and reintegration. BAN does this by offering medical, surgical, and psychiatric care to help victims return to normal life as well as legal representation for those who were burned due to another's negligence. BAN also offers variety of programs and initiatives including Burn Camps and Children's Surgical Missions.

More on the role of burn camps for injured youth:

Burn Camps help young burn survivors cope with their painful new world. In the course of a few weeks, the campers build self-confidence, friendship, and learn that there is life after burns. We are currently the only organization that aids burn camps all around the country by sending them recreational equipment and volunteers. We raise money to allow the camps to reach more children in need, and to provide them with more therapeutic activities. The campers enjoy, for example, swimming in the pool, teambuilding activities, playing music and singing around the campfire.

As a youth burn survivor myself, I can appreciate the proactive role that Sam and BAN are taking to help youth live meaningful lives after burn accidents. In my case, I sustained 2nd-and-3rd-degree burns in my home country of Haiti due to a cooking accident at age 4. Due to caring medical missionaries including my future adoptive mother, Dr. Guy Theodore, founder of L'Hospital Bienfaisance de Pignon, and Shriners Hospitals for Children® in Cincinnati, OH I was saved from death, relocated to the US, and underwent 14 reconstructive plastic surgeries from 1985-1995. I understand too well the importance of having someone like BAN in your corner. The youth psyche is a fragile thing, and can suffer repeated blows from being ostracized by kids at school because now you're "different", even from stares or negative comments by adults who should know better. Like Shriner's Burns Institutes, BAN serves a critical role in the rehabilitation and development of youth and adult burn victims. Thank God for people like Sam Davis, Burn Advocates Network staff, mentors, and volunteers, and Shriners.

For more information on Burn Advocates Network, Ltd. click the picture below or contact 375 Cedar Lane Teaneck, NJ 07666 Ph / 877-BURN-411.

Oklahoma State To Pac 10? Cowboys Reportedly Leaving Big 12 For Pac Ten

The dominoes have started falling and where they'll land noone knows. However, it is pretty obvious that schools, athletic directors & football headcoaches are making this move for the money. Not that there's anything wrong with that (especially since public universities nationwide have taken significant funding hits with this recession, especially in places like Florida where my alma mater, University of South Florida has lost millions in government funding.) A major TV network like The Big 10 Network provides cash and tons of it for building/expansion/renovation projects, funding & budgeting for R&D and anything else a major University might need.

Eventually we're probably going to see 4-5 superconferences each representing a geographical monopoly on NCAA athletic competition with less "significant" schools like Marshall, UCF, Baylor?, etc. being relegated to the "other" conferences. It is what it is. Of course, the "amateur" student athletes will never see a dime of those increased TV revenues, but that and the NCAA's hypocrisy are different topics for another post when I have all day and lots of digital ink. http://www.thegreatblogofketo.blogspot.com/
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

Gary Coleman DEAD: 'Diff'rent Strokes ' Actor Dies In Utah, Wife Shannon Price At His Side

Gary Coleman was the poor man's Michael Jackson, so to speak. He was a famous child star, whose life never really panned out the way he thought it would, as so often happens with child stars faced with the pressure of growing up way too quickly and living in an adult world without the benefit of being able to enjoy childhood as a child should. I think this is partly why Gary acted out so often, and was such an angry person.

I have a family member, a comedian & entertainer who met Gary and remarked how irritable and angry Gary seemed. Gary would even snap at you if you mentioned his trademark line, and say no he wasn't going say his line unless he was paid to do so. Poor Gary, regardless of any money he may have made, he cannot be said to have loved his life, and therein lies the greatest tragedy of his life. http://www.thegreatblogofketo.blogspot.com/
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

Haiti and the 2010 Earthquake: Part 5-Contacting U.S. Department of State

From the U.S. State Department :

To Ask For or Provide Information About U.S. Citizens in Haiti
Email the Task Force at Haiti-Earthquake@State.Gov
OR
From the U.S. or Canada, call 888-407-4747.
Outside the U.S. and Canada, call 202-501-4444.

For U.S. Citizens in Haiti Seeking Assistance or Reporting Their Status/Whereabouts
Call the Embassy's Consular Task Force at 509-2229-8942, 509-2229-8089, 509-2229-8322, or 509-2229-8672.
OR
Email the Embassy at ACSPaP@state.gov

For All Nationalities and Locations
Use the Person Finder below to find and share information about missing persons in Haiti.

Regarding inquiries about American Citizens to Haiti-Earthquake@State.Gov, (setup due to the high volume of calls) include the following information:

• The full name, date of birth and passport information (if known) of the persons in Haiti you are trying to contact.
• Their contact information in Haiti; telephone numbers, email address, hotel name or address (if known)
• Your name and contact information, and your relationship to the person in Haiti (parent, spouse, friend etc.)
• Any special or emergency circumstances.

Person Finder Tool by Google
Copy & paste the HTML code into your webpage to post this Person Finder tool on your website.

Haiti and the 2010 Earthquake: Part 4-Relief Efforts (A Guide)

A positive storyline arising from the 2010 Haiti Earthquake is the incredible outpouring of love, charity, and goodwill that citizens of the United States have demonstrated towards victims of Haiti's tragedy. Americans are among the world's most altruistic citizens, and commit more foreign aid than all but a few other countries. Factors may include the United States boasting among the world's highest per capita income, our attraction to the story of the underdog, or that images of immeasurable suffering being endured by the Western Hemisphere's poorest country truly touched our hearts in ways that no other tragedy in recent memory has. I cannot remember seeing so many charity drives, phone calls, emails and volunteer efforts by Jane & John Doe's, and coordinated corporate charitable efforts since 9-11!

Because of the sheer number of charitable efforts underway, this blogger has undertaken to identify legitimate local (Tampa Bay) and national/international relief efforts by organizations recognized as legitimate in which we can be confident of entrusting our donations of time and money.

WARNINGS:

Cash is what's needed and is the most efficient donation method. However, I would strongly advise that you make sure you know an organization is legitimate before you donate your
money. Also, SPECIFY to them WHERE you want your monies to go, ask exactly how much of your donation will be used, and HOW your donation will be used. If you are sent pictures of the disaster from unknown source do not open as they could contain viruses. Legitimate charities that are recognized and have the networks in place to actually transmit your donations include those organizations mentioned below in "TAMPA BAY RELIEF EFFORTS", "NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL RELIEF EFFORTS", and "MORE RELIEF WEBSITES".

After 9-11 appeals, Americans donated over $1.3 billion including over $353 million for the families of about 400 police officers, firefighters, and other uniformed personnel. However, there was skepticism over how much of the 9-11 donations went to victims families. Just because you donate with good intentions doesn't mean your donation will be distributed where you think it will. Some people are well-meaning, but if they don't have the relationships in place or the organizational skills to distribute large amounts of money or supplies your donations will just end up being mis-allocated, unaccounted for, or lost in administration. Please don't just pull out your credit card & enter your personal info into a web form without doing your homework first, because it's easy to setup phishing sites that look like a trusted charity webpage. When donating funds, SPECIFY to the charity exactly HOW you want funds allocated for relief efforts.

TO TRAVEL/VOLUNTEER IN HAITI:

According to this blogger's conversation with American Airlines International Desk, Toussaint L'Ouverture Intnat'l Airport is not reopening until January 25. Only military & government aid flights are currently allowed in to Port-au-Prince. American Airlines, the primary U.S. carrier to Haiti cannot even reach their own agents in Haiti (Phone: 509-229-6000). Some travellers are planning on flying to the Dominican Republic, then driving over the border into Haiti, but some parts of the border may still be closed, so perform your due diligence first.

The Center for International Disaster Information has posted the following important guidelines on offering volunteer services in Haiti. Please consult their website for the full statement on in-person volunteer requirements.

Volunteers without prior disaster relief experience are generally not selected for relief assignments. Candidates with the greatest chance of being selected have fluency in the language of the disaster-stricken area, prior disaster relief experience, and expertise in technical fields such as medicine, communications logistics, water/sanitation engineering. In many cases, these professionals are already available in-country. Most agencies will require at least ten years of experience, as well as several years of experience working overseas. It is not unusual to request that volunteers make a commitment to spend at least three months working on a particular disaster.

The American Red Cross also states, "We are not accepting volunteers to travel to Haiti. If you would like to volunteer for the American Red Cross, please contact your local chapter."

TAMPA BAY RELIEF EFFORTS:

Tampa Gospel Kingdom (A 501(c)(3) organization so your contributions are tax deductible). Contact: Rev. Francoeur Fenelon, Founder, 813-770-5080, fenelonuniversity@yahoo.com. Many of Rev. Fenelon's parishioners are from Leogane, a city nearby Port-au-Prince which has also experienced extensive earthquake damage with some parishioners reporting family member deaths. This blogger has volunteered with this organization for some years, and Reverend Fenelon has an extensive distribution network for funds through his churches and contacts in Haiti.

Haitian Association Foundation of Tampa Bay, Inc. HAF is the Tampa Bay organization representing Tampa Bay professionals and the interests of the Haitian community at large. Yours truly is a member. HAF is coordinating efforts with Haitian-American Alliance, Caribbean American Chamber of Commerce of Tampa Bay (CACCTB), and other organizations to conduct relief drives throughout Tampa Bay. Contact HAF for drop-off locations throughout Tampa Bay.

USF Joins Humanitarian Relief Efforts for Haiti Students, faculty, and staff at my alma mater, University of South Florida such as USF Club Creole are coordinating relief efforts among several organizations on campus while also collaborating with community organizations.

NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL RELIEF EFFORTS:

American Red Cross ARC Pledges Initial $1 Million to Haiti Relief. Donors may send a $10 Donation by Texting ‘Haiti’ to 90999 through an effort backed by the U.S. State Department. You can also make a donation by calling 1-800-RED-CROSS or 1-800-257-7575 (Spanish) or click on the Donate Now button.

YELE Text YELE to 501501 and donate $5 to support Haiti! Proceeds benefit Wyclef Jean's Yéle foundation. Thus far Yéle donors have raised over $2 million for Haiti relief.

T-Mobile customers can make free international calls to Haiti retroactive from January 12 through January 31st, 2010.

UPS is NOT offering free shipping for anything under 50 lbs going to Haiti. That is an Internet hoax. However, The UPS Foundation is giving $1 million (USD) in cash and in-kind aid to help the people of Haiti.

American Airlines is NOT offering free flights to Haiti. This is another Internet hoax. However, AA will allow travellers to make a donation to the American Red Cross and earn AAdvantage® bonus miles through February 28, 2010. Logon http://american.redcross.org/americanairlines-pub for details and restrictions.

Direct Relief International has already sent nearly $420,000 worth of medicine and essential to the St. Damien Children's Hospital in Port-au-Prince. You can donate at directrelief.org.

UNICEF You can donate as little as $10 through by logging on unicefusa.org/haitiquake or calling 800-4UNICEF.

Mercy Corps lets you donate by phone (888-256-1900), mail, or online. Mail checks to Haiti Earthquake Fund, Dept. NR, PO Box 2669, Portland, Oregon 97208-2669.

Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) Due to reports of fraudulent activity, MDF is asking all donors to please be wary of third-party solicitations for Haiti relief. To ensure that your donation goes directly to Doctors Without Borders, please use the secure website or toll-free phone number, 1-888-392-0392.

Oxfam is on the ground in Haiti with 200 people preparing to support rescue efforts and respond with safe water, sanitation services, and shelter material. Help now by donating to their Haiti Earthquake Response Fund.

Microsoft made an initial commitment of $1.25 million for Haiti relief efforts, and asked its employees to support relief organizations working in Haiti. The Bing homepage includes a Haiti disaster-relief link.

Salesforce.com has set up a special donation page on its website, for funneling Haiti-earmarked funds to the Red Cross and World Vision.

Apple has also placed a "Haiti Earthquake Relief Donate Here" button on iTunes.

MORE RELIEF WEBSITES:

Listings of relief sites excerpted from How You Can Help Haiti Earthquake Victims, Essence Magazine, January 14, 2010 and Haiti Earthquake: How to Help, Jan 13, 2010

Action Against Hunger American Jewish World Service
Americares
Beyond Borders
CARE
CarmaFoundation
Catholic Relief Services
Childcare Worldwide
Compassion International
Church World Service
Feed My Starving Children
Food for the Poor
Friends of WFP
Haiti Children
Haiti Marycare
Haitian Health Foundation
Hope for Haiti
International Medical Corps
International Relief Teams
International Rescue Committee
Medical Teams International
Meds and Food for Kids
Mennonite Central Committee
One.org
Operation Blessing
Operation USA
Partners in Health
Rural Haiti Project
The Lambi Fund of Haiti
The Salvation Army
Samaritan's Purse
Save the Children
World Concern
World Relief
World Vision

Updated Sunday, January 17, 2010 [Updated WARNINGS section; Added section: TO TRAVEL/VOLUNTEER IN HAITI]

Refer to previous posts in this series by accessing the links below:
Haiti and the 2010 Earthquake: Part 1
Haiti and the 2010 Earthquake: Part 2-Where In the World is Ruth Hodges?
Haiti and the 2010 Earthquake: Part 3-Cause & Effect

Haiti and the 2010 Earthquake: Part 3-Cause & Effect

A 7.0 earthquake is disastrous anywhere in the world. In Haiti, this disaster is further exacerbated by total lack of economic (banking system, inflation), government (government and non-government agencies), health (hospitals, rescue), communications (telephone/internet, etc.) & civil infrastructures (roads, bridges, public works) due to decades of negligence, abuse, and misuse by Haitian government, big business, and lack of education among the people.

Every time we begin to recover from natural disasters such as Hurricane Jeanne in September 16-17, 2004 which killed over 5,000 in NW Haiti, back-to-back hurricanes in 2008, etc., another tragedy seems to follow on the heels of the last. Furthermore, each successive government reinvents the wheel based on the cult of personality by top leaders, and improvements or initiatives by the previous administration such as hospital building, road re-construction, aid programs, etc. are often not followed up on by the incoming administration.

On top of this, consider an astronomical 80% unemployment rate (just think of how bad it is in the U.S. with10% unemployment!), the government and private sector are completely unable or unwilling to provide new employment for the population contributing to a cycle of poverty impacted by the fact that average citizens must often choose between having food and sending their children to public school which is not free. Even getting simple aid tools like earth movers to dig out people from the rubble of collapsed homes is unreasonably challenging as such things aren't readily available-if at all.

All of the above help explain why we Haitians are successful when placed in environments like the United States where opportunity to succeed is plentiful. Many of us come to the US fleeing political persecution, economic dis-opportunity, and educational disparities back home. There is no such thing as Social Security, government welfare, free clinics, Disability payments, homeless shelters, job training programs, college scholarships, etc. So if we don't care for our own, we know that no one else will. Again, it's not that Haitians are incapable of succeeding, it's that we have no OPPORTUNITY at home, something many take for granted here in the U.S. (unless our families already have or own some form of capital).

Within a few years of emigrating to the US and abroad, many hard-working Haitians have saved enough money to buy houses and real estate, and Haitians annually send more money from the US back to Haiti to help with family education, housing, etc than to any other country outside the US, a perfect example of remittance economy. We are incentivized to succeed because there is no alternative.

Refer to previous posts in this series by accessing the links below:
Haiti and the 2010 Earthquake: Part 1
Haiti and the 2010 Earthquake: Part 2-Where In the World is Ruth Hodges?

Haiti and the 2010 Earthquake: Part 2-Where In the World is Ruth Hodges?

As I mentioned in my previous Haiti Earthquake blog post, "Haiti and the 2010 Earthquake: Part 1", my adoptive Mother Ruth E. Hodges, may be missing in Port-au-Prince, Haiti in the aftermath of worst disaster in 200 years. "Ma" as I've called her since my adoption in 1989, is 82-years-old, has been a missionary to Haiti since 1969, and is responsible for having fundraised and overseen the building of several hundred church buildings, schools & orphanages in these 40-odd years. She is known as "Mother Hodges" by the Tampa Bay community.

Ma travelled to Haiti, leaving Tampa International Airport on an 11:00am American Airlines flight. Friends on the ground in Haiti confirm that she arrived in Port-au-Prince at 3:40pm and expected to be picked up by a pastor, long-time family friend and host for her 50-something missions trip by 5:30pm. The earthquake hit Port-au-Prince at 4:53pm. Based on past experience it takes approximately 1.5 hours on a good day to get through customs where officials search luggage thoroughly, inspect and stamp passports & gather visitor itineraries, and then travellers pick up their luggage at the baggage carousel. So we assume she was still in the airport terminal at the time of the earthquake. Unfortunately, our Pastor friend hasn't spoken with anyone via cell phone in the States since Monday, and we don't know if he was able to get to the airport or if he did, if he was able to transport Ma to his house in a more northern city which is out of the earthquake zone. Travel through Port-au-Prince would have been extremely difficult with debris from collapsed houses and buildings forming roadblocks and casualties in the streets. We don't believe she is still in the airport, however, because many American travellers were stranded at the airport waiting for transportation, and it seems Ma would have approached anyone who had a cell phone to call friends or family in the States.

While watching commentary on CNN, I saw the information on the newscrawl referring to the U.S. State Department 888-407-4747 phone number for those searching for American citizens in Haiti. It took me until Wednesday afternoon to finally get through the phone number as I kept getting kicked off the line between 30 seconds and 1 minute, 45 seconds. I gave the clerk on the other end all the most recent information I had on Ma, and they promised to forward the information to US employees in Haiti and relief workers who would contact me by phone once they located Ma. It's now Thursday morning, and we still haven't heard anything yet which is understandable considering there are over 40,000 Americans living in Haiti.

Ma, despite her advanced age has survived hurricanes, coups, motorcycle accidents, obstinate horses, food poisoning, Dengue Fever (which doesn't kill you but makes you wish you were dead), death threats from witch doctors & more in Haiti. She is a fighter and survivor, and has survived in difficult circumstances that would discourage-if not kill-most people. We believe God will keep her safe.

To read more articles about "Mother Hodges" access the following links:

• Mother's way By JEFF KLINKENBERG, Published May 13, 2007
• 2002 "My Favorite Older Person" Winning Essays-Fifth Place General Education Winner: Hillsborough County
• Tampa/Hillsborough County Human Rights Council, Annual Human Rights Award Recipients

Haiti and the 2010 Earthquake: Part 1

On Tuesday, January 12, my home country of Haiti experienced the worst natural disaster and Haiti's worst earthquake in 200 years! The quake registered 7.0 on the Richter scale and was centered 10 miles West of the capital city of Port-au-Prince (a port city named for Christopher Columbus). The tragedy is of personal import to me for several reasons. Not only was I born in Northern Haiti, but my adoptive Mother, Ruth Hodges, an American missionary to Haiti since 1969 was making her 50-something trip to the island that same day, and arrived at the Toussaint L'Ouverture International Airport a few minutes prior to the quake.

For a bit of perspective on what a 7.0 earthquake is like, consider the following description by Professor Chris Connors of Washington and Lee University:

...the magnitude 7.0 earthquake would cause extreme motion.

"We're talking things flying off the shelves, popping into the air, significant ground motions coming up and down right underneath you," says Connors.

Connors says the fault line is similar to the San Andreas fault.

He says the reason this quake was so damaging was because it wasn't very deep; it didn't have as far to travel before reaching the surface.

The first source of information I accessed on the earthquake came via an e-mail sent from the Haitian Lawyer's Leadership Network (HLLN), a human rights watch list created by Ezili Dantò, Haitian playwright, performance poet, political and social commentator, author and human rights attorney. From her Tuesday, 1/12/10 6:26pm post follows:

General Hospital in Port-au-Prince is down,
Palace is damaged
No one knows how many dead or injured
The aftershock is revebarating [5.9 and 5.5]
People can only see dust,

Obama is sending in military troops.

Phone lines that are working are: Haiti-tel and Voila. Digicel tower is down.

Tsunami warning still in efffect [for nearby Bahamas, Cuba, Dominican Republic & Haiti]. A terrible situation!

This blogger will update my Facebook & Twitter pages as I receive more information from international news outlets and friends on the ground in Haiti. May God help us all.