Attending “Tweet Divas For Haiti” Will Make a Difference

Posted by Lisa Sullivan, 5 months, 2 weeks ago at 2:36 pm. 2 comments

The other day I had the chance to sit down for coffee with Helen Little of Horne Memorial United Methodist Church.  I wanted to meet her in person and talk to her first-hand about what Tweet Divas is doing on behalf of their Haiti Relief efforts.  What I ended up getting was an inspirational message from Helen herself.  What was supposed to be one hour quickly turned into two and truth be told, if I could’ve stayed longer, I would’ve been happy to share lunch with Helen to hear more.  There is no end to the stories of devastation, the relief efforts, and the spirit of the Haitian people. 

There was one story that really stood out for me, though.  While we talked of the efforts the team at the Ryan Epps Orphanage are making, Helen told me other stories of her many trips to Hait in the last 40 years.  Slightly paraphrased from memory this was the gist of the conversation from the one story that resonated with me:

Helen: I was in a clinic one time and there was this woman, a woman who had nine children.  While they live in mud huts, these children were well cared for and very clean.  The woman had come to the clinic not because she was sick.  She kept touching her arm vigorously.  Through the enterpreter on site, she was trying to tell the nurse that she wanted birth control…on her arm.  She had heard a rumor that birth control could be a shot in the arm.  She wanted a shot.  She wanted to stop having babies.

Me: That’s awful.  Sad.  Why doesn’t she just tell her husband that she doesn’t want to have sex.  I mean, not never having it again but during that time of the month?

Helen: Because in their society, it’s considered a sin against your husband if you refuse to.  So, they have to and they don’t really understand how not to continue to engage in marital intercourse without getting pregnant.  That’s the reality. 

Isn’t that sad?  Now, add the magnitude of what the Earthquake has done for the families that are alive or for the thousands of children left homeless, without parents, not knowing if their own parents are dead or alive.  The Ryan Epps Orphanage provides a safe haven for as many children as they can take in.  Right now their numbers are very small but in the future, with our help and the help of our local community, we can assist them in their efforts.  That’s why it’s so important to be a part of “Tweet Divas For Haiti”.

Helen told me the children recently received tents to live in.  Since the initial Quake, the staff, families, and children have been living in the least protective of conditions.  Think bed sheets stringed together as covering over mostly sandy grounds between two walls and a building, about a 20 x 40 foot space.  It’ll still take roughly $40k to at least erect a building with four walls and a roof on a concrete slab, which for the rainy season that hits beginning around April, that would be a major blessing for them.

If you haven’t registered for our event – “Tweet Divas For Haiti” – please do so.  Go here: http://tweetdivas4haiti.eventbrite.com.  If you can’t make it but you would still like to contribute to the event, please contact me directly at lisa@lisasullivanpr.com and I will get the proper information to you. 

But, I really hope the attendance is high.  This is for a really good cause AND Helen herself will be there to mix & mingle with the Ladies as well as she spend just a few minutes telling her story of what it was like to be there during the Quake, what she felt, saw, & how her heart continues to lie with the Haitian people.  Helen is an inspiration.  Come listen for yourself.

Thank you.

(Note: all images courtesy of Horne Memorial United Methodist Church.  Thank you!)