Playing in Traffic

All over the Lower Mainland, and perhaps all over Canada, today was a day for police, fire and ambulance to work together for Haiti. Some firefighters came up with the idea and invited other emergency workers to help raise money for Haiti. I stood on the westbound white line on South Fraser Way, in the middle of Saturday traffic, to raise money for earthquake relief. (Images of five year old kids in Paraguay selling fruit and washing windshields flashed through my mind.) The people of Abbotsford are amazingly generous, emptying ashtrays full of change and throwing in 5’s, 10’s and 20’s as they drove past.
As I was standing there, trying hard not to get hit by truck mirrors as they squeezed past, I thought about what the previous 11 days would have been like if I lived and worked in Haiti. For the last 264 hours, I would have worked every waking moment to help those who were still alive. After each exhausting shift, I would have been sent home to sleep for a few hours and then get called back to work, hoping that my family would be okay without me, hoping that more survivors would be found, and hoping for a hospital to bring them to.
On my run this morning, I thought about survivors who have been pulled out of buildings, one as recently as today. It would be terrifying to be trapped day after day, unable to get out, unable to eat or drink, unable to move to relieve one’s self, hoping and praying for rescue. I thought of those who were not rescued but had survived the quake, unable to get out, unable to eat, unable to move, hoping and praying for rescue. Slowly dying alone.
Back to the generosity of people, the bucket I was holding probably had over $500 dollars in it from about an hour of standing on the street. Hopefully the generosity does not end there, I hope that people give to help rebuild and develop Haiti. New Orleans is still rebuilding from Katrina even though Katrina happened over four years ago in the wealthiest nation on earth. Haiti happened in the poorest country in the west – it will take years to rebuild – will our generosity continue? Or will it fade from the news and be forgotten again? Will I remember to pray and give?

New Year's and Water

If you know me at all, or have read my blog - you know that I run and I like it. Another thing that I am passionate about, is helping kids escape poverty. New Years, while I've never actually done it, is a time for resolutions.  (Perhaps I should try one sometime and risk ruining my perfect record of not breaking any.) If you resolved to “get fit” or “lose weight” in 2010, have I got a deal for you? Or maybe in 2010 you would like to do something good for someone less fortunate than yourself. As Home Depot likes to say – “You can do it, we can help.”
Last year I ran the “Run for Water,” a fund raiser for water supply in Ethiopia. Here in Abbotsford $80000 was raised to provide water to (I believe) three villages. This enables kids to go to school instead of walking up to 20 km to fetch water. (Next time I run 20k maybe I’ll think of doing half of that with a bucket of water on my head.) Now, some of these kids no longer face the daily danger of attack and rape, just to bring water for their families. I think that’s pretty cool.
If you’re interested in running or helping out as volunteer, google “Run for Water” Abbotsford. There are 5k & 10k runs and a half-marathon on May 30. Run for Water provides programs to get you in shape for the run or walk, you can start as late as Easter for the 5k family Run/Walk. But hey, this is about New Years and having a purpose to help you reach your goal – so why wait until Easter to start when you have time to do a half-marathon?