Getting a broader viewpoint

As we confront a serious economic crisis here in the US, it becomes even easier for us as Americans to forget the problems beyond our borders. I know that I frequently find myself with a sort of tunnel vision that can keep me from thinking about the world "outside."

It's at times like these that I'm thankful for my good friends, Haley Thun, and Kuelli George, and their commitment to international development. Over the past few years, they have spent much of their time working to help the people of the Haitian borderlands. Since Haley's first trip several years ago, I have continually been impressed and inspired by the work they do and the creative ideas they have for bringing people-driven solutions to this region.

Recently, Haley sent me an email about a project he and Kuelli have been working on for the last year, Children of the Border. I've included an excerpt below.

In keeping with our interests, [Kuelli] and I have been volunteering for the past year with Children of the Border (CotB), a nascent NGO that serves a community of several hundred Haitian sharecroppers living in the southwestern Dominican Republic. Although our jobs normally keep us in the San Francisco Bay Area, we hope to travel to the Dominican Republic for two weeks this spring to oversee the establishment of CotB's first maternal health center. We need funding to accomplish this project, and are seeking the support of family and friends who might be able to help us.

The sharecropping families that the clinic will serve immigrated to the Dominican Republic from Haiti in search of a better life, yet now live in destitute poverty and without the security of any institutional safety nets. Although our resources are limited, CotB is working to offer effective solutions to the most extreme problems facing the community, including lack of access to medical care. In this impoverished and isolated setting, pregnant women give birth miles away from any medical center, and too often they and their babies face life-threatening emergencies that arise from routine complications. For this reason, CotB has made it a priority to provide a clean, comfortable site in which to host pregnant women who are close to their due dates, and to transport the women to a hospital when they go into labor. We hope that the establishment of this maternal health center will serve as a lasting support structure in the community that will help local women and children to enjoy happier and healthier lives.

Currently, Children of the Border is halfway to the $10,000 goal that would allow them to get the center established and operate it for the first calendar year. I just gave $20. If you're so inclined and have the resources in this difficult time, I hope you'll join me in donating to their project today. All donations are tax deductible. Help Haley and Kuelli bring maternal healthcare to a community in dire need. Thanks.