Supplies, supplies and more supplies

6 days left...

I have sooooo much stuff to pack. And still waiting for so much more....I have NO IDEA how I'm going to pack all of this and take it with me. Looking for alternate ways of shipping donations to Haiti because, at this point, no matter how badly I feel about not being able to take every single donation on board with me, there is no way I will be able to find the extra room. This serves as a testimony to the unlimited generosity of complete strangers...just giving and giving and giving some more and doing their part in helping Haiti! Thank you again to everyone who so generously donated!!!!!

Today I found a charity based out of Victoria that is shipping containers of donations out to Haiti. They have a drop-off point in the city and have managed to ship out 4 containers of stuff out there already! I've  received so many baby clothes, diapers, blankets....all precious gifts and I am soooooo happy to know they will make their way to Haiti cause I was feeling terrible about not being able to bring more than the essential medical supplies I was over-packing my suitcases with!

This is a shout-out to Kim. Kim is a fellow midwife based out of Victoria who was the first to answer to my plea. I shamelessly faxed and emailed all the midwifery practices of Vancouver Island asking for donations of any kind... And Kim answered quickly and loudly!  No words can describe how generous and kind she has been, getting medical supplies together for me, packing them in bins and finding an easy way to ship them directly to me in Tofino (thank you Heather for bringing everything all the way out here!) and spreading the word! Her clients embarked and she gathered over a dozen more bins in under a week of baby stuff of precious worth!  We've been emailing back and forth for weeks now and have never met! Kim is an angel. Responded so quickly and generously to my plea and got everyone she knew on board. She'll be shipping all the extra stuff via the Victoria Charity. Her house has served as a warehouse and, on top of taking care of her clients due to birth, she has found the time and energy to organize and pack loads and loads of donations that will shortly be making their way to those who need them the most. Here are some before and after pics of Kim's home, full of donations. Thank you again and again Kim!!!!!!! You have no idea how grateful I am for all your help....xoxo

Pre-departure butterflies

It's hitting me at last! The busyness of fundraising is finally settling down. I'm now in pre-departure mode. The outpour of generosity, donations, gifts and support has been INCREDIBLE. Touched by the kindness of strangers. Awed by their generosity. Overwhelmed by feelings of gratitude as I sit in my floating home.

Just figuring out how to get all my stuff to pass customs without too much hassle. From what I have gathered so far, I should be OK crossing the US boarder (fingers crossed as I wait for the final answer). But it seems like as soon as one thing is cleared - and a pound of stress melts off my shoulders - a new issue comes up... Just heard that I should expect to be taxed heavily once at the Port-au-Prince airport. Run of the mill, usual and oh so familiar corruption but man alive, am I not looking forward to  Haitian Customs! Apparently, if I don't pay up, my stuff will be confiscated...

Being the first team to arrive to Carrefour, we have no real idea what to expect. And our NGO can't tell us much more about the situation there. We're just going to have to wing it. I just can't stand the thought of there even being the slightest chance that all these medicines, supplies and equipment - so generously donated and gathered - might be taken away within minutes of reaching their destination. Not looking forward to having to argue my way through customs and, although I have lived this before in other countries, I have never been responsible for transporting such preciously needed cargo.
So this is my stress-of-the-day: "How to make it thru Haitian customs smoothly?".

Hope, hope, hope some more...and just wait and see...

Fundraising 101

I don't remember ever taking a class on fundraising...

Figure that the best way to learn was by doing. And so I had my 1st fundraiser last night and it was a success! 

THANK YOU TOFINO!!!! 

We counted over 120 people, raised a little over 800$ and donations are still coming in!!!!!!  Then add the value of the love and support I received that night...Invaluable! But oh so appreciated and needed!!!!

Got all the funds needed to cover the cost of the supplies that had been ordered.  Received extra donations from Victoria, Nanaimo to all the way from Ontario and Rhode Island! I'm leaving with so much stuff, we'll not only be able to set-up a fully-functional maternity center, but we'll have enough equipment and supplies to make it safely and smoothly through a good few months of births!  

THANK YOU TO EVERYONE WHO DONATED AND HELPED !!!!!

Awed, amazed, speechless and utterly grateful! To the kindness and support of my family, Matt's incredible family, our friends, my extended family of midwives, our fellow Tofitians, and EVERY SINGLE PERSON WHO EITHER DONATED SUPPLIES, MONEY, IDEAS, KIND WORDS OF SUPPORT and/or  PRAYERS. Thank you ALL! 

No gesture is too small and no gesture goes unnoticed.

I have learnt much more than the  ins-and-outs of raising funds...I've learnt about and been touched by the kindness and generosity that we all have within us...whichever way we express it...
Every single person that I have met while preparing for this journey has helped and touched me in ways I will never be able to thank them enough for...From the bottom of my heart:  THANK YOU.

What made you want to go?

That's gotta be the question that I have been asked the most.

I don't really know. It was just my heart and gut reacting to the news and a nagging feeling inside me that I HAD TO DO SOMETHING...

Rewind....

Growing up in a bunch of countries all over Central America and West Africa. Moving every 3-4 years. Constantly immersed in different cultures. Never knowing what I could truly call my home. I always dreamed I would continue in my parents' footsteps and hoped to work in international development. Had a heart for humanitarian aid since I was a kid....In 2004, found midwifery as my calling to help others...

Fast-forward....

Montreal, Qc. Summer 2005. I meet Mathieu. Love of my life. But life gets in the way and we part. He moves to Tofino BC. I graduate as a midwife. 

We meet again in the fall of 2008 and get engaged.  Long-distance love for over a year until Dec 31st, 2009, when we reunite for good. I leave my job and we embark on a cross-Canada drive out to our new home in Tofino. We arrive on Jan 14th...2 days after the earthquake in Haiti. After days spent at home, listening to the news and crying, I tell Matt I have to go help. I have his full support. 

Weeks of emails and phone calls later, I find a way to go and book my flight. 

One-way. 

Departure March 5th. 

3 weeks till departure...

Time to get organised and start raising funds....