SUKKUR—It is 6:30 in the morning. Mostly women and children seem to be getting ready for work. Young teenage girls were preparing breakfast; men sipping a cup of tea. Those who were rushing to work had a quick breakfast and by 8 a.m. the camp is almost empty. (more…)

SUKKUR, Pakistan—This morning as I was leaving the camp the leader said, “These are our children, and they will be ours, thank you for helping them.” I asked myself, “Why did he say that?” (more…)

SUKKUR, Pakistan—I was tossing back and forth thinking of the children I met in the camp who were in dire need of medicines, a bath, and clean clothes. There were no toilets or bathing facility in the camp. When it got dark there was nothing much to do. There was no electricity. (more…)

PAKISTAN—As I entered the waiting area before boarding the flight to Lahore, I realized I was already in Pakistan. The people, their dress, the language, their heavy carry-on baggage, massive duty free items, etc., etc.—this is it—welcome to another world. (more…)

TALCAHUANO, Chile – Talcahuano was hurt badly by the tsunami that hit Chile’s coast. The naval port was completely swept away and the water system collapsed. Those who lost their homes are being housed in schools and the Chilean government is helping to take care of their needs as well as providing water in the city. (more…)

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti – At 4 a.m. there was a tremor. I heard some neighbors quickly vacating their home. Later, our workers at the warehouse were talking about it and I heard from our customs broker that no one was working at customs for fear of buildings collapsing. (more…)

JACMEL, Haiti – Jacmel is a city with a population of 120,000 people. It is surrounded by mountains and beautiful beaches, a must-visit for tourists. Flowing through the city is a river where almost all cleaning chores are done. Women wash clothes, men clean their motorbikes, kids swim and people bathe in this river. (more…)

SILOE, Haiti – About 80 percent of Haiti’s population lives in Port-au-Prince. The remaining 20 percent live in remote villages surrounded by beautiful mountains. Today, we traveled to the village of Siloe. The last few days I’ve had to ride in the back of a pickup truck, and for the first time this week, I was given a chance to sit in the passenger seat next to the driver for what I thought would be a comfortable ride. (more…)

L’ESTERE, Haiti – We started the day off with a small UN escort to L’Estere. It was scorching hot and a 2-hour bumpy ride brought us to sector 5 where we were to deliver the first food distribution. (more…)

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti – This morning we had a long 2-hour drive to the bridge that crosses over to St. Marc. The bridge is weak and therefore no vehicles were allowed to cross. It was chaotic on both sides of the bridge, people were everywhere. (more…)