Politics and More

September 1, 2012

The first days after the flood I was very impressed with the response from the Dominican government. There were many agencies (including the Red Cross)and Oxfam) at the school asking how many people were affected and what the needs were. However, it seems all they did was write down numbers and drive away in their nice, big, air-conditioned SUV's. So far the government has come through with some rice, beans, 30 mattresses and 20 mosquito nets. They are also talking about constructing four houses for the people that lost their entire homes. We'll see how long that takes. This morning Yanet got a call from a Politician she knows. We met her in Barahona and she did give us 15 mosquito nets, 12 pairs of jeans, 12 shirts, about 25 pieces of wood and 15 pieces of tin for roofs. Thankful for the help but still amazing to me so little has come through when over 450 people have been affected. I am so glad I am part of this experience. To be able to see first hand how slow the trickle down really is. So many hands get greased before anything gets into the hands of the needy. So if you are called to help someone in need – check out the organization first and give your gift or your donation to someone who is actually going to put something tangible into the hand of the person that needs it! I say this not because I want you to donate to Evergreen4kids, but because I see first hand how little actually gets to the person that needs it. Not one item has come from some of the larger organizations that have been here to access the situation. But, somebody is on the payroll for the accessing, you can be sure.