Relief Kits for Haiti

My dear friend Rachel used to work for the Mennonite Central Committee.  The MCC, according to their website, "works alongside local churches and communities in more than 50 countries, including Canada and the United States, to carry out disaster relief, sustainable community development and justice and peace-building work in the name of Christ.  MCC also seeks to build bridges to connect people and ideas across cultural, political and economic divides."  Rachel called me last week to tell me about the relief kits that the MCC was collecting to send to Haiti, and she asked if I'd like to go shopping with her for the supplies for a few kits.  I, of course, was interested.

The relief kits consist of 4 bars of soap, 4 bars of laundry soap, 1 tube of toothpaste, 4 toothbrushes, 1 bottle of shampoo, 2 wide tooth combs, 1 fingernail clipper, 1 box of bandaids, 1 package of sanitary pads, and 4 bath towels.  We combined funds with Alan's parents to purchase enough supplies to make 10 kits.

I had been looking for a way to help in Haiti, but was struggling to find something that felt right, felt enough.  I thought about donating money, but I didn't feel like making a phone call would show Nate and Abbie how important helping was.  These kits were perfect.  Nate and Abbie went shopping for the supplies.  They helped to find each item on the shelves.  They helped to cram the cart with 40 towels.  The put each of the supplies in their hands, saw how basic the items on the list were.  They learned that not all children have toothbrushes or shampoo.  They learned that there are people in the world who have lost their homes, people who have lost everything.  It's a difficult lesson to learn, and a difficult lesson to teach.  But I feel like Nate and Abbie now have a better understanding of how blessed they are, how having soap and a towel for a bath is not to be taken for granted.

After making our kits, I wanted to share the idea with others.  I posted a message on our church Google group asking if anybody else wanted to participate, and listing the contents of the kit.  The response was amazing.  On Saturday, we are going to have an activity to assemble the contents of the kits, which people are purchasing right now.  I'm thrilled that this is happening.  I'm proud of the generosity that is being shown.