Port-Au-Prince after the earthquake

New Orleans after the flood

After the horrific earthquake that hit Haiti almost two months ago, I started to notice some commonalities between Haiti and New Orleans, where Hurricane Katrina struck in 2005.  Both the cities of New Orleans and Port-Au-Prince suffered almost complete devastation and saw a lack of adequate response following the disaster.  It was not until a couple of weeks ago, until I finally saw most people being taken care of in the hard hit country.  Obviously, New Orleans was much better off economically and more prepared, but I still think we can relate to each other in the experience of losing so much and the act of trying to recover both physically and mentally.  I also think the emergency responders were able to look at the mistakes made immediately following Hurricane Katrina and least try to create better rescue effort; although I know the scale of this disaster was much worse than Katrina.

Besides this terrible relationship in tragedies, I began researching and found incredible commonalities in history and culture.  For example, did you know that one of the largest influxes of immigrants to the city of New Orleans was from Haiti in 1809 and 1810 after slave uprisings?  Throughout this influx the city’s population doubled infusing New Orleans culture with Haitian cultures in cuisine, music, dance, theater, religion, architecture, and even black political activism trying to end slavery.  The Haitians brought the beginnings of red beans and rice, a New Orleans delicacy, the theme for brightly colored Creole homes, and a rich tradition of Franco-Caribbean religions like Voodoo.  In fact, New Orleans is even described by many as the “most Haitian city” in the U.S.

I hope this will make people think twice when deciding to help out Haiti.  I know we are in a troubling time economically, and many are still recovering in this city from the effects of the hurricane.  But, given the link we have to the people of Haiti, I think we have an obligation to help out in their time of need.  I provided some links below for some causes that you heard of, and maybe some you haven’t heard of.  Also, don’t forget about the people in Chile now suffering from a severe earthquake last week.  I also have a link to a USA article where I got most of the information I found about New Orleans And Haiti: New Orleans, Haiti link

How You Can Help

http://www.standwithhaiti.org/haiti

http://www.doctorswithoutborders.org/

http://www.redcross.org/

NOLA HAITI SOLIDARITY Facebook Group

Also Check This Out

A heart-wrenching account of victims of the earthquake blogged by LUCAP favorite Bill Quigley:

Three in a Million - Voices from the Haitian Camps

Exciting News - Loyola will be hosting The Invisible Children College Legacy World Tour!!! To get everyone pumped up here’s some info on the Invisible Children Organization.

Who Invisible Children Is:

Taken from their website www.invisiblechildren.com

In the spring of 2003, three young filmmakers traveled to Africa in search of a story. What started out as a filmmaking adventure transformed into much more when these boys from Southern California discovered a tragedy that disgusted and inspired them, a tragedy where children are both the weapons and the victims.

After returning to the States, they created the documentary “Invisible Children: Rough Cut,” a film that exposes the tragic realities of northern Uganda.s night commuters and child soldiers.

The film was originally shown to friends and family, but has now been seen by millions of people. The overwhelming response has been, “How can I help?” To answer this question, the non-profit Invisible Children, Inc. was created, giving compassionate individuals an effective way to respond to the situation.

We are storytellers. We are visionaries, humanitarians, artists, and entrepreneurs. We are individuals part of a generation eager for change and willing to pursue it.

As a non-profit we work to transform apathy into activism. By documenting the lives of those living in regions of conflict and injustice, we hope to educate and inspire individuals in the Western world to use their unique voice for change. Our media creates an opportunity for people to become part of a grassroots movement that intelligently responds to what.s happening in the world.

But our work extends beyond our borders. In war-affected regions we focus on long-term development, working directly with individuals and institutions that are eager to realize their full potential. Through education and innovative economic opportunities, we partner with affected communities and strive to improve the quality of life for individuals living in conflict and post-conflict regions.

Our approach to humanitarian work is founded in the strength and intelligence of the Ugandan community. We learned early on it was not only important but essential to heed the wisdom of people that had not only lived in the war, but were surviving it. People who would know better than anyone what the greatest needs were and the best ways to meet them. What we came to find is that while there have been many efforts to address the issues that stem from living and fighting in such a long-lasting war, the people of Uganda are asking for a future beyond the conflict.

Invisible Children will be here March 24th at 7pm in Nunemaker Hall! Stay tuned for more information!!!

Watch the Video Below:

Legacy Tour

A quote that has remained with me for several years again made itself clear to me when I sat down to write.

“There is a certain dignity in creation - that is what ties us to the earth.”

It was made during a homily at my home parish and struck me because, for once, I was hearing the priest speak from a place of acknowledgement to all beliefs, choices, lives in order to bring together better awareness for the world around us.  The concept seems to underline the purpose of service and justice, and why we, not only as students and acquaintances/friends, but as interrelated beings should work to ensure a better care of our community is promoted. 

The dignity of the human person is the foundation of a moral vision for society.  The value of human life is consistently threatened on a daily basis through lack of awareness in the environment around us, ignorant actions and words, apathy, lack of consequential understanding.  People are more important than things and the measure of every institution ultimately enhances or threatens life and dignity of these people.  How do we emphasize such a notion, and make our needs clear?

We are not only dignified, almost sacred in a sense, but we are social.  How our society is organized - in economics and politics - affects the capacity of individuals to grow in community.  Community is a term signifying strength and support.  Every person in the community has a not only a right, but a duty of sorts to participate in society, seeking the common good and well-being for all.  In that vein, work must be done to create a solid foundation to rest upon. 

At the core of the virtue of solidarity is the pursuit of justice and peace. When we realize what this means is when we can begin to realize how to achieve these virtues.  “There is a certain dignity in creation - this is what ties us to the earth.”

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/8346871.stm

The semester is drawing to a close, so I will be going home soon. The closer the break comes, the more I remember my friends and family. Thinking of home also reminds me that, as much as being a student and volunteer in the Loyola community has taught me, it was at home that I realized what social justice meant to me on a personal level.

The Oxford English Dictionary defines social justice as “the distribution of advantages and disadvantages within a society.” Whenever we think about this distribution, we automatically assume that we are the advantaged and that we have something to impart to those disadvantaged. However, this limits our thinking so that we strive only for social justice in settings outside our normal environment.

I have never been able to see social justice as something removed from my daily life and the people I interact with. I am from a rural area of Tennessee where the income levels are low, most kids are eligible for free lunches at school, and many cannot even afford a jacket in the winter. There were no organized places where I could have volunteered in my local community, but I personally did a lot of things.

My mother, a teacher, has purchased clothes for students of hers who had very little clothing or had outgrown them but couldn’t afford to buy more. My mother and I took food over to a friend’s house because her father could not afford to buy groceries, so she was living off the last of the potato chips in the house. These examples obviously fit into the definition of social justice. However, is taking dinner to a friend whose mother had recently had surgery, which I have done, considered social justice? There is more to “advantages” and “disadvantages” than just socio-economic level. Removing the worry of dinner so that my friend’s family could be with his mother is as important to me as anything I have done volunteering with Loyola.

There is much lost in the pursuit of social justice when it is viewed merely as something that happens only “out there” and only in volunteer organizations and groups. We have a moral duty to give some of our advantages to those who are lacking in them. However, there are as many ways to do this on campus are there off of campus. Look around you and you will realize that there are people struggling with grades, money problems, physical and mental health issues, and numerous other problems. Offering to help a classmate with a subject they are struggling in is as rewarding and appreciated as volunteering at a senior citizen’s home.

Two weekends ago I had a very interesting conversation with a man I met at Ozanam Inn, a mens homeless shelter in New Orleans.

For those of you who may be unaware the project Hunger Relief goes to Ozanam Inn every sunday morning. Students bring food and engage with the men for a little under two hours. Every sunday I, as well as other students, learn a lot through conversation alone. Now I do not mean simply learning to be grateful for our opportunities, but realizing why those opportunities exist. Conversation also helps us see these men as human beings, which often would not be the case outside of this environment. 

The conversation that happened two weeks ago really made me question how quick I am to judge other people. I was speaking with a man named Derek about a variety of things; school, community work, etc. Derek was originally from Florida and had been homeless for the last ten years. As we were talking I was struck by how Derek did not judge me or my interests once. I, on the other hand, went into the conversation assuming anything and everything about Derek. This frustrates me because I am in no place nor do I have any right to judge Derek’s life. However the fact that it was so easy to judge Derek is something I find very interesting. Is it my lifestyle that allows me to be so quick to judge others? Or have I just been taught to think a certain way about people like Derek?

I firmly believe that I, along with other students, have been taught by society to fear people like Derek. What exactly makes someone like Derek dangerous according to our society? Is it not having money, a family, or a roof over their head? Or is it all three combined? Why do we fear these people simply because of their situation? It seems unfair to fear people like Derek who would’ve ended up in a situation similar to my own had they been dealt a different hand. We need to take every opportunity we are given to learn from one another.

Often times, it gets disheartening to work for social justice.  Struggling against the big -isms like racism, classism, sexism, and so on can be draining.  For this reason, activists need to stick together and act as a support network when times are tough.  LUCAP offers a loving and affirming support system for its project leaders, but who can mutually support us outside of Loyola?

Reaching out to CACTUS, the Community Action Council of Tulane Students, had been proposed many times before in LUCAP meetings, but it had never left the drawing board.  From what I had gathered, CACTUS was basically Tulane’s LUCAP - a group of passionate students engaging in self-directed service for the benefit of the community.  A little research showed that we actually work with two of the same community partners - Best Buddies and Habitat for Humanity.  Why hadn’t we connected with CACTUS long ago?  Its worth noting that even though Loyola is located directly across from Tulane, students from our two universities seldom interact, so the lack of connection is hardly an isolated incident.

LUCAP’s External Affairs chairpersons (Mark and Chris) planned a rendezvous between the leaders of LUCAP and CACTUS that came together in a delicious dinner last night.  Together, we were fifteen young people eating vegan soup and chatting about how we’ve been working to engage students in service. Ideas for new service opportunities were bouncing off the walls, flying in every direction, and landing in our laps for the taking.  It was enlightening to hear about CACTUS’ struggles to get students into the community and how they work to overcome their challenges.  Both groups had lots to learn from each other - the room was ablaze with our collective passion for service.

The most important things our two organizations share are surely our passion to engage students in service and a commitment to the people of New Orleans.  I hope that we’ll continue meeting - but next time they get to do the cooking.

Over the summer I was in a Ten Thousand Villages store in Alexandria, VA browsing around and found a bin filled with unusual maps.  Map projections have always amazed me - considering that there is no way to put the three dimensional contents of a globe onto the two dimensional contents of a map, something has to be distorted.  Where do we distort?  Why is the Atlantic in the middle of the map?  All questions I still have unanswered.

Any casual environmentalist would tell you that local food is more sustainable than factory farmed food shipped from across the country.  And it makes sense - there’s nothing eco-friendly about a soot-belching diesel semi blazing across the interstates of America.  

If you’ve been keeping up with environmental issues, you know that vampire power is the power that your electronic gadgets use when they’re turned off but still plugged in.

Good Magazine did a great graphic comparing amounts of vampire power used by common gizmos.

Easiest solution to stop losing power to the vampire effect: plug your electronics into a surge protector and turn off the surge protector when the gadgets aren’t in use. Or you could get a fancy surge protector that does it by itself.