My introduction to the island country of Haiti was through a chance pick up of the book "Mountains Beyond Mountains" by Pulitzer Prize winning author Tracy Kidder (http://www.tracykidder.com/books/mountains/).  In this wonderful book, Kidder documents the amazing life of Dr. Paul Farmer, who has eschewed the easier tracks available in the medical profession and dedicates his life to curing infectious disease, through his organization Partners in Health, in the most needful of places: Russia, Peru, Cuba, and Haiti.  Farmer's philosophy - "the only real nation is humanity."  These are important words to reflect on as we watch the devastating news roll in from Haiti.

I work in the field of sustainability, of sustainable development, a phrase that takes its definition from the Bruntland Commission's report to the UN in 1987: "sustainable development is a pattern of resource use that aims to meet human needs while preserving the environment, so that these needs can be met not only in the present, but also for future generations."  Though I have never been to Haiti, from reading Farmer's book and from hearing those individuals that have been, there is arguably no other place on Earth that struggles more with even the first part of that definition: of meeting the needs of those in the present.

And now.  Tuesday's 7.0 earthquake has devastated the country in a new and unfathomable way.  The footage is gut wrenching and the on-the-ground reports are even worse.  What can we do? 

The only real nation is humanity.

One real bright spot in this is the response from the world.  Aid is coming in from the world over, including a massive supply from the US government and from the US populace.  

There are many ways to give.  

You can give to large, international organizations like The United Way: https://volunteer.united-e-way.org/uwwwdisaster/donate/

You can give to Paul Farmer's organization, Partners in Health: http://www.pih.org/home.html

You can also give to many, smaller local organizations.  One of which is Bahamas Habitat. Bahamas Habitat is a non-profit disaster relief organization that I have volunteered with in the past, including last year's mission trip to the islands of Inagua and Caicos - both of which were hit hard by Hurricane Ike.  Bahamas Habitat is run by Nashville native, Abraham McIntyre, who has recently partnered up with Paul Farmer and USAID to hand deliver (via two planes that Habitat has received through kind donations) aid to Haiti this week. 

To learn more about Bahamas Habitat and donate, please see the following website: http://www.bahamashabitat.org/wordpress/?page_id=81

Jeff

jeff@jgowdyconsulting.com