Haiti is changing the way Humanitarian Relief work will be done.

Like so many other North Americans I can remember that by noon on 9/11 there was a solemn resolve in me that life as we knew it had just changed forever. Jan 12th 2010 is Haiti’s 9/11, a day that will change the way that country builds and lives from this day onward. But just as the impact of the quake affected more than just the Haitian region, the changes it is promoting are being felt in many nations around the world and none more so than here in Canada.
For two weeks now I have met with Pastors, community leaders and a lot of just real good Canadian folk across the land and I have witnessed an amazing three wave reaction right across the country. The first few days it was almost a money throw – a frantic sense that we must do something and do it now!  Before the first week was over, a major wave of frustration had been felt as people couldn’t believe that the resources and aid so desperately needed by the hurting inside of Haiti was sitting there at the airport, but somehow couldn’t get to the people.  Now as we pass the two week mark there is a third wave of reaction as people have calmed both their immediate emotions as well as their secondary frustrations and are taking a very introspective look at the process over all. 

What has stimulated this third wave is the gathering of international leaders in Montreal this past week where although a tremendous amount of common sense thinking has come out of this, it has left people with an almost fatal understanding that in the end, no matter how they give, how quickly they give, how much they give or who has done the fund raising – even stars of today – there is simply no way to avoid political process and international stumbling blocks.
I found myself wondering this week which reaction was stronger as an argument could be made for each.  The first ‘out-pouring’ response was unprecedented.  It was so passionate in its scope, amount and immediacy you could almost call it violent… certainly it qualifies as forceful. The second “out-rage” reaction was significant to behold.  There were many times in those few days where I was almost accosted by good people who were just so angry with the “stupidity” of the “sitting on the tarmac” syndrome that had befallen much of the aid.  But in the end my vote is for the third wave of “thinking people” response – while not nearly as demonstrative, before it’s over it will prove much more a powerful response than any other.
Here’s why I say this;  the best thinking political minds, leaders and politicians come together and publicly define and characterize not only what Haiti needs today but what they need moving forward and how long of a process this will be.  Estimates range from 4 years to over a decade. Many of the conclusions drawn from this global brainstorming session were exceptional parts and pieces of wisdom and planning. Someone should probably write a book cataloging all of the insight gleaned from those who gathered. Yet despite all of the direction and fine-tuning that comes from these discussion, one fact emerges unquestionably clear;  Governments are fine things… but at the end of the day there is no more helpful, effective or positive response to a disaster in our world than one person helping one person.
Yes Governments help. They can bring a sizable fortifying effect to our own efforts but certain undeniable facts have shown themselves… and people are noticing. That Relief work has now become as varied as television broadcasts and there is no way for one unified template to fit all. That despite the good will that generally exists between most relief organizations, each has their own specific agenda and it is impossible for all organizations to fit into the same box. That although most organizations – including Governments – have exceptional leaders at the top, there is no one person who can “take the lead” in any truly Global relief effort.  And, that no matter how powerful a Government is… they are not equipped, prepared or able to effectively minister to the people of an effected region hit by earthquake, floods, famine or other disasters.
It’s just not how God made us.  In Matthew 9 Jesus talked about the people He saw in every city and town He entered. The word in the original language denotes that He was “moved” or shaken to His core over what He saw.  He turned to His disciples and made this comment;  “The Harvest is plentiful but the laborers are few”.  It’s almost as if He was saying to his guys that ‘despite the terrible condition  of these people… the harvest they so desperately need – and God so deeply desires to release to them – really is in abundance.  What is a certainty is by saying these words He brought out two very important truths regarding the dignity of human life; That first and foremost, despite what seemed to be the case, there was no shortage of the Harvest God has for people… and secondly that God’s preferred method of getting His harvest to these needing people… was people. 
Jesus could have said “the harvest is plentiful, but we need stronger Government with quicker response methods”.  Instead He spoke of laborers. People are the laborers He was speaking about.  There has never been a larger visual aid for this passage than the two weeks following Jan 12th. The most effective relief groups in Haiti today are those working through the local Churches of that country. There are not many that operate this way, a few do… Feed the Hungry is one of them.  Now I appreciate Governments probably more than the average citizen – if the table talk at Tim Hortons is anything to go by. I am all for cooperating and coordinating our efforts with one another. But what is happening right now is not a fair contest… people helping people trumps governments helping people any day and in any situation.
So here are three things that are about to change forever.  Because of what we have all seen in Haiti this month, governments, being governments… will heighten efforts to bring regulation to the relief response world in order to bring parody and efficiency to future disaster responses. This will undoubtedly be as effective as any other Government program.  Secondly, we are about to be deluged by floods of star-led easy-technology (text etc) efforts to raise copious amounts of money because of the staggering truck loads of finance that came in this way over the past two weeks.  This will  increasingly be a target to the 15-30′s as the only group that will respond to these means down the road.  The third change is the overwhelming number of people across the country who are busy ‘thinking’ about what it is that really truly works in a time of crises. Canadians are already figuring out that the only way they can insure their investments actually make a difference, they have to actually know who is raising the money, how it is being used and what it is accomplishing. For that reason more and more people will send their support through agencies that they personally check out, organizations where they have a direct connection with their vision, and groups they know exactly what the process is and what the end result will be.
Let me encourage you to be one of those Canadians.  Make sure you carefully look into where you send your support and that you know and agree with the agenda, the process and the end results of those whom you support. I don’t have to tell you where to send your money, if all Canadians examine their investments carefully this will naturally eliminate most of the efforts that should never have been there in the first place.  If we do our homework there will be more instances of people helping people, and less product sitting on the tarmac. 
Don Sparman
Finally out of the harsh Prairie winter and warming up in the Rockies.  ??

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~ by donsparman on January 28, 2010.