“Red and yellow, black and white, we are precious in His sight. Jesus loves the little children of the world.”

My mother used to sing this to me all the time. My siblings and I even had a tape cassette and a book filled with the lyrics and children of all different ethnicities vibrantly displayed. They were smiling, they were all holding hands.

At a young age, I was taught that regardless of skin color, ethnicity, or social status, no person is better than the other. Today, in our tumultuous and divided society, it’s obvious not many share that same belief.

When Be Still Clothing sent me this tee with the lyrics splayed across, I thought of the song immediately. Then Hurricane Matthew struck and photos of little children began to surface and the song came to mind again. I was moved to create this post.

Why isn’t the world moved to help?

And why is it that there is a preference for those we chose to help? I came across this article some time ago and I feel it accurately depicts the world’s response (or lack thereof) to Haiti’s devastation. Oh, the days where we were oblivious to discrimination, huh?

I’ve only been to Haiti once as a young girl, visiting for my uncle’s wedding. All I remember was our pretty mint dresses, blue water and stainless sand (that I threw at my brother’s face — sorry, Mitch!) My parents tell me stories about their beautiful country — the grand houses they lived in, where they hung out with their friends, the outfits they slayed, how close everyone was!

Never did I see my country as what the media portrayed. Third-world country this and third-world country that. Media, if you’re going to talk so much of how “incompetent” Haiti is, how about you insert some reputable orgs that can assist the nation while you’re at it?

Help does not discriminate.

So many are suffering. That should be enough to stir our heartstrings into take action. I’m reading Radical by David Platt and he devotes several chapters to checking our hearts about helping those less fortunate. He says:

If our lives do not reflect radical compassion for the poor, there is reason to wonder if Christ is really in us at all.

So true, huh? You can’t call yourself a Christian if you don’t have a heart for others that need your help. Our neighbors aren’t just who we see. They are the ones sitting with their head bowed on the street corners, desperate for someone who will show them that they see them. They care.

A call for unity and compassion shouldn’t solely be rung when disaster comes.

It’s been over a month since the hurricane struck Haiti, are you still praying for them?

I hope yes. But if not, it’s never too late to start. Pray for Haiti and donate to Haiti, too. They need us. We are all here to extend God’s love, especially to those who may not feel it in the wake of disaster.

Donate to Haiti

I encourage you to do your research as you go about it! Be aware of what’s going on in Haiti, who can help and how they plan on going about it. One reputable organization I can speak for is Tearfund, a Christian charity zealous about ending poverty. In collaborating with them, you are informed of what exactly the country needs. They even include you in the community so you can watch just how far your contributions can go!

When I was researching ways to help Haiti, I learned that collecting in-kind goods is a no-no for multiple reasons. In doing so, we risk:

1. debilitating the local economy and destabilizing the communities,

2. causing logistical and financial problems (many goods don’t always reach them because of customs in US and Haiti) and

3. lead to an overabundance of some goods and a short supply of others.

What’s your best option? Donate to Haiti! Donating gets the much needed funds and resources to these groups who know the situation and have distribution methods in place.

Here is a short list of organizations to which you can donate to Haiti:

Haitian-Based organizations
MADRE (https://www.madre.org/)
Lambi Fund of Haiti (http://www.lambifund.org/)
Sowaseed (http://sowaseedonline.org/)
Haiti Communitere (http://haiti.communitere.org/)
Sakala Haiti (http://www.sakala-haiti.org/)
SOIL Haiti https://www.oursoil.org/)
Konbit Solèy Leve (http://www.konbitsoleyleve.com/)
Volontariat pour le Développement d’Haïti (http://www.vdhhaiti.org/)
Fondation Aquin Solidarité (https://hibiscus-haiti.org/…/fondation-aquin-solidarite-fa…/)
GARR (http://www.garr-haiti.org/)

For the artist in you
Konbit Mizik (http://www.konbitmizik.org/)
ACFFC (http://www.acffcjacmelhaiti.com/)

Non-Haitian Orgs with proven track records in Haiti

Doctors without Borders (http://www.doctorswithoutborders.org/)
Roots of Development (http://www.rootsofdevelopment.org/)
Partners in Health (http://www.pih.org/)
Border of Lights (http://www.borderoflights.org/)
Nova Hope for Haiti (http://www.novahope.org/)
IJDH (http://www.ijdh.org/)

Tear fund  (http://www.tearfund.org/en/2016/10/haiti_after_the_hurricane/)