TED.com has offered the following powerful resources.
Google Haiti Crisis Response Page
TED talk Stories of Haiti by Edwidge Danticat
Ushahidi partners with Digicel for survivors to report in, areas of need, and a culmination of earthquake-pertinent information.
GRATEFUL
First, we want to thank everyone for the continued prayer, phone calls, text messages, e-mails, networking, and fundraising that has occurred in the last 24 hours. We have been astounded at the immense support and encouragement that we have received.
The CPI GUYS’ RESPONSE
Second, we have been wrestling over how to respond to the extreme devastation in Haiti. Waiting for information from our Haitian partners has been nail-biting. We still have no information about the health of our friends in Chauffard, the safety of our friends in Port-au-Prince, or the condition of the new building in Chauffard.
It has been on the calendar for a survey and expansion trip with Personal Partners in late February or early March. Obviously the shifting of the land has shifted our priorities for the next 60 days.
To handle the many requests for immediate emergency support, we have set up our Earthquake Emergency Relief fund. This will help with our aggressive reconstruction and damage assessment efforts over the next 60 days. This will be immediately followed with preparations for a massive reconstruction and recovery effort over the summer with our current partners, The Crossing, and our new partnership with FPC-Vine here in Lakeland.
This is a restricted fund used solely for Earthquake Reconstruction & Restoration. Please find out more and donate here.
HEEDING THE REQUEST OF EMERGENCY RESPONSE ORGANIZATIONS
1. Jonathan Capre, who leads the CIM network of churches and schools in Haiti, will be traveling to Haiti as soon as it is feasible to assess how the people of CIM have been affected by the earthquake. We have 4 CIM churches and schools that are in Port-au-Prince and the surrounding areas. Jonathan will be our hands and heart to these folks until we can be there. He will also be able to assess the roadways and transportation options available for teams to travel to Chauffard in the next 6-8 weeks.
2. To ensure that our friends and partners can participate in our efforts, we have set up our Earthquake Emergency Relief fund. This will enable us to send a small team (as soon as it is feasible) to deliver supplies and assess the long term needs in the CIM communities where we work. This assessment will help us plan for late Spring and Summer projects with our current partners, The Crossing Church, and our new partnership with FPC-Vine here in Lakeland.
The CPI Guys and our partners are committed to this reconstruction and recovery, especially in the rural and outlying areas where aide and support are unlikely to reach for many months. You can help instantly by donating, joining our team in the spring, or, if you are a medical or search-and-rescue professional, please see The Red Cross.
Thank You so much for all you have done. We look forward to hearing from you soon.
Most Passionately,
The CPI Guys
Kenny Ellis &
Grant Nieddu
on behalf of our Haitian friends and partners who still wait breathlessly to hear from.
It was a dilapidated block building with tin roofing and a dirt floor, but that day it became a seminary classroom. The CPI Team had traveled to Chauffard, Haiti to continue our work in this remote, farming village. Kendal Anderson, pastor of The Crossing Church (a CPI Church Partner), had also brought a team and had prepared a series of seminars for the church leaders in Chauffard.
The meeting was about to begin when I found my place at the back of the room on a rickety, plank bench next to an elderly Haitian man. He flashed a warm, genuine smile at me, motioned hello with a tip of his hat and quietly said, “Bon jou.” I extended my hand to him and he placed his weathered, calloused hand in mine. He, like so many of the men in this village, had spent a life working the land, loving his family and serving in the community. He pulled out a Bible, notepad and pencil from a tattered plastic bag and turned his attention towards the front of the room.
My Friend
Kendal had begun his introductory remarks and was passing out an outline that had been translated into Creole. My back row friend and me both took our outlines and prepared to fill in the blanks and follow along with the teaching. Kendal asked everyone to turn to a specific book in their Bibles and the other 15 Haitians in the room began flipping pages and locating the reference that had been assigned. Kendal began to lead us through the outline, giving us the key words needed to fill in the blanks. A few minutes passed and I glanced over at my friend and I realized that he was lost. He still had a warm smile on his face, but it was mixed with a look of confusion, embarrassment and appeal. He motioned to me for help in filling out his outline while his Bible lay open to a book that was not referenced in the teaching. He could not read or write.
He was not unintelligent or unmotivated. I am certain he had accomplished much in his life. The sheer fact that he had lived well beyond the median age in Haiti (57 years) speaks of his determination and endurance. The problem was that he was never given the opportunity to learn how to read or write. Education in Haiti is for the privileged and this man was not among them.
Kendal continued his teaching, but I could not bring myself to focus. I sat there imagining the opportunities and relationships that I would be excluded from if I could not read or write. The world is filled with complex truths, beautiful realities, diverse streams of perspectives and opinions, inexhaustible topics and issues, logic, art, poetry, solutions, ideas and MOST of them are contained in the form of written communication. This man had experienced a lifetime cut off from all of these because he could not read. He reminded me why the CPI team is doggedly committed to providing opportunities for Haitians to learn basic skills that will enable them to access the world of possibilities around them. Reading is one of those basic skills that I will never take for granted again.
Christian, Donations, Haiti facts, Partnering, Philanthropy, Transforming Travel, Transforming Travel Trips, Updates, Volunteering, haiti, humanitarian, news, nonprofit
Update from Grant:So, the team from The Crossing and a small band of CPI-ites have stayed their first night in Chauffard.
If you are reading this, then you are probably not there! You are probably somewhere nice and warm where there is internet access and a cup of coffee.
They most likely woke up to a chill that drives to the bone, damp clothes and muddy shoes, and one of the most gorgeous sunrises you can imagine. They also probably woke up knowing that they were in a place positioned to make a huge impact.
Needless to say, I am very jealous that I did not get to go on this trip! 
But, those of us who periodically stay behind must take comfort in the fact that we are holding down the fort to enable the teams to go and make a difference.
On this trip, Kendal Anderson’s church, The Crossing and his entire family made it down. This is important to them in that they have done missions around the world, however they have been building toward incorporating the people in Haiti in their family and church’s ethos. They want to build a long-term relationship with the people of the area.
Along with them, Kenny, 2nd-timer Liz, and 1st-timer Brien Morgan all made it down. This was important for Elizabeth in that, though she knows Kenny from the first trip and some of our interactions, she is making a stride independently, expanding her confidence that she can travel and serve the field without her closest friends. This is a large point of growth for her.
This trip is HUGE for Brien. He has never left the country nor served the humanitarian and mission field to this degree. I am excited to hear his report on how things went. To those who have supported him: Thank You!!
It is our immense pleasure to build personal partnerships like these. Transforming Travel is so much more than we first expect. Many times, people expect a missions trip to be a guided tour of a oppressed area, hug some necks and feed some bellies, and, when it is time to leave, cry a little and head home.
The transformation in the hearts of the traveler is impacted so much more. This is evidenced by The Crossing’s commitment to the new friends they made and to sowing into the area. This is evidenced in the passion that Troyce and Liz served medically. This is evidenced in the fact that Brigs flew around the world to visit these amazing people. This is evidenced in the life of Kenny as he serves tirelessly in those in-between moments of life (looking for work, serving as a father, serving in the church).
Transforming Travel, we believe, transforms us for life. And, of course, our acts of service are more than just a “sign of the Kingdom” to Chester, Milo, Willie and our other Haitian friends. They make significant impact in the mental, emotional and material lives of those serving and those served.
So, I guess I would simply say Thank You. Thank you to those who have supported us and continue to support us. Thank you to the you, family and friends, who have made sacrifices big and small which has culminated into massive improvements for our Haitian brothers, and shapes the hearts of the missionaries. Your donations have made all the difference in our ability to serve, so thank you all.
And, we would invite you to consider being so much more than donating. The door is wide for you and your loved ones to join us on a trip. Just contact us, and we ensure that you will be challenged and transformed.
Electrically,
Grant R. Nieddu
on behalf of CPI Guys
###
Photo by Ronald GehrkeChristian, Donations, Transforming Travel, Updates, haiti, humanitarian
Hello to Our Wonderful Haiti Supporters!
Grant and I wanted to share with you the amazing updates happening between our partners in the U.S. (The Crossing Church) and our partners in Haiti. Read below, subscribe to our RSS feed, comment, and forward it to a friend if you find it interesting!
This is just an example of the power of partnering. More to come!
Kenny,
It’s called ‘Imagine School South Lake’. They have a character development program at the school and want the kids to grow ‘world eyes’. Sherry chairs the team and so she presented a Cornerstone School partnership as an option. They loved it!I presented the partnership possibility at a staff meeting and invited any interested teachers to participate. So far 17 classes have signed on! They’re doing a variety of things: most have a ‘Coins for Cornerstone’ jar in the classroom; kids are bringing quarters, nickels, dimes to fill them. One class brought in $24 the first day
Two weeks ago I came to school and introduced Haiti to 12 classes in four different 30-minute assemblies; 60 kids per period, for a total of almost 250 kids! I told them most Haitian kids eat pretty much only rice and beans and challenged them to help purchase food. One kid went home and persuaded his family to eat only rice and beans for one meal a week, taking the money they would have spent and giving it to Cornerstone instead! He makes them sit on the floor with the lights off, since they don’t have electricity in Chauffard
One of the teachers, Peggy Wamback, will be coming with us in December.
I don’t know where this will lead, but I love it
Let me know what else I can tell you!
Thanks!
Kendal
If you would like to learn more about partnering for Transforming Travel or to help with the cause in Haiti, please let us know!
Passionately,
The CPI Guys!
Kenny and Grant
Partnering, Transforming Travel Trips, Updates, Volunteering, humanitarian, nonprofit
Economist Paul Romer spoke at TED and offered a profound idea for making sustained improvements on the development field.
The CPI Guys have been in agreement for some time on urging a movement of holistic development. Though the focus has been on comprehensive development for the individual (see our 5 Major Areas), holistic development on the city level would offer several great opportunities for sustained development.
Chartered cities could be a huge answer to this. One good example of this already under way would be Nouveau Kiskeya on the coast of Haiti.
Check out the video and comment to let us know what you think!
I love Charity Navigator. From the beginning of our organization, we have modeled our internal standards of performance based on Charity Navigator’s rating system. They are the best guide to intelligent giving.
Through a Tweet from @CharityNav, they showed a time line of giving in America. Or, at least a breakdown of the key events in the mindset of America regarding giving.
The thing I found most interesting is that it shares that in Democracy in America (by Alexis de Tocqueville from his legendary trip to the U.S. in 1835), Philanthropy is hailed as one of America’s top traits. This mirrors Peter Drucker’s opinion that the nonprofit organization (the organized form of philanthropy)is the apex of American society.
Other highlights of humanitarianism in the united states of America:
The world’s first community foundation
Philanthropic giving is usually a majority of individual givers, out-donating foundations, corporations and funds
A possible motive for the founding of the Rockefeller Foundation
View it at CharityNavigator.org.
by
Grant R. Nieddu
(Grant Nieddu Blog)
(from the blog of Grant R. Nieddu)
I recently consulted two young people who had an AWESOME idea for a humanitarian service.
It was the best idea I had heard of in quite a while. They came to me to learn how to launch their project. I have some experience in launching nonprofits over the years and they needed some guidance.
I love innovators; creative individuals who put together new and exciting ideas that can serve others.
This dynamic duo had done just that. They already had the correct mindset of successful people; opulent, abundance-minded, and service-oriented. Yet, there was one problem.
They tried to consume the entire thing at once. They didn’t take it one bite at a time.
The trouble with many start-ups (humanitarian, non-profit OR for-profit) is that few get going with the concept of incremental growth.
Exponential Expectations
Many entrepreneurs are idealists. They see the glass as half-OVERFLOWING. They love the challenges involved.
These are great traits to have. Further, I doubt a start up will ever turn over their engine without them! However, it is a commitment to longevity that I have found gets a mission on the road to long-term success.
The problem with entrepreneurial idealists (humanitariansl i.e. you AND me) is that we expect exponential growth immediately.
I have never found this to be true. I DO believe in exponential growth. I ALSO believe that it will be based on a foundation, and foundations, I have found, are built incrementally.
Creating Credibility
Humanitarians, more specifically, DEVELOPMENT humanitarians, rely strongly on good will. That means that, in exchange for donors’ good will (their donations), they will be seeking and searching for credibility. They want to know that their investment will bear a return. (That return being credible results in your service.)
Credibility can be felt. And lack of credibility stinks. People can smell a fly-by-night from a mile away.
What does it take to build credibility? Incremental growth. A strong foundation.
A millionaire I worked for called it being “a twenty-year overnight success.” He was implying that what the world views as an overnight success is actually the result of incremental growth and foundation building over the long term.
Translation
Plan on the long term. I definitely believe that it takes at least a year of planning and preparation before you make your first peep about what you intend to do. Only then will you have the infrastructure in place to make good on promises (and build credibility.)
Do the nitty-gritty tasks that you keep hoping to recruit someone else for.
In terms of our organization, I spent the last year doing short trips to Haiti, some of them alone with no fanfare. No bands welcomed me. Now donations showered upon me.
Even more, it has taken almost 4 years of sowing, sowing, sowing resources into the field and into our own self-education about what Haiti takes. All this took place before I even showed up!
BUT, exponential growth DOES show up overnight. Just now we are seeing e-mail after e-mail asking for more info. New twitter follower after new twitter follower keep adding us. New church partnerships show up.
We see the years of incremental growth. All they see is a semi-finished organization, which happens to look and act exponential.
So, can you get exponential growth? Absolutely.
When will it come? After you have put in the diligence of incremental growth.
What will happen if you skip the incremental growth? You will get a flash-in-the pan success with little-to-no longevity. This works for the person who initiated it, but has very little lasting benefit for others involved.
Dig in. Plan on the long term. (This demands commitment, so count the cost!)