Written by Gordon Clark, Horticultural Consultant
In my area of the US, local schools are closed for weeks, colleges have sent home students for the rest of the semester, airline travel is not recommended, there are shortages in the supermarket, and medical equipment may be in short supply. The local medical center is overwhelmed and now 160 staff are quarantined at home.
Large and small gatherings are banned and libraries and other institutions are closed. People who can work from home are encouraged to do so. Other people may be laid off.
We all need to realize that this situation pales in comparison to what our team, PHF, and the rest of the Haitian community has been experiencing for months. Unfortunately, this doesn’t make it into the news.
In Haiti, schools and hospitals have been closed, travel has been impossible, and food has been in short supply, so much that 1/3 of the population is on the brink of starvation. There has been no gasoline at times, no electricity, and people are out of work. People have been kidnapped and there is much violence. This is all the result of political issues; not an infectious disease.
Despite all of this, the PHF team has been diligently tending the fields to provide much needed food for Haitians and planning for future crops as they reach for the goal of self-sustainability. We at Harvesting 4 Haiti applaud their efforts.
In the end we in the US will get through this, but folks in Haiti and in refugee camps around the globe are suffering so much more. Let’s help each other out in our own communities and while doing so, don’t forget we are not alone in this world. And as we get frustrated with not finding toilet paper on the shelves, being stuck at home, or having vacation plans postponed, I’ll leave you with a quote from my Mom. “Quit your belly aching, there are people a lot worse off than you are. “