Doing Good ?

We were 2 stories up on a scaffold of rusted steel and warped boards when Elsworth got deep with us. "Are we doing any good?" Katie asked, flecks of white paint on her arms and in her hair. "You're not doing bad," Elsworth replied. But really, we wanted to know: what were we doing here painting the dialysis center of an Adventist hospital, overlooking the neglected citrus groves and the slow, brown river? "I've painted my high school," I put in, although really I only painted the railing black with a crowd of volunteers on MLK day. "I'd be doing this at home. But here I get to do it in paradise." I gesture towards the landscape. A yellow-bellied bird flies by. This is our last day at the hospital for two weeks.

Manual Labor by Suburban College Kids

Another Day in Paradise

Man, I like it here. Today we broke tiles off from their backing at the Adventist hospital. I was psyched to get in a full day's work, but it turns out that you can prep tiles faster than you can soak them, so we filled up two oil buckets, a trough, a garbage can, two wheelbarrows and a bassinet with tile sheets and water and we'll come back tomorrow. I am sorrowed, though, that we couldn't finish up the half-done paint job that the people from Denver left, but there was something that either their boss was coming back from America with more paint in a month, or they just needed permission from someone in America. I'm sketch on it, but it seems like this is exactly the sort of thing that our fundraised money could do. Nothing's sadder than a half-painted hospital. We did, however, get tasty Adventist vegetarian food for lunch and ride home in the back of a pickup truck, so what could be so bad with that?

Viva San Ignacio!

Day one! The crew met me at the airport and yes, it's just about as hot and humid as you would think. Then the 2 hour drive to our part of the house, which is bubble-gum pink and guarded by 2 big dogs (that are still very friendly). We immediately headed out to help at the Zumba class one of the volunteers holds for the kids. This is actually a great service project, since childhood obesity does exist here and there aren't many kid-friendly activities in the evening. Then dinner at our cook's an awesome woman called Seesta Kaye. To be honest, we have an unofficial, but tight relationship with the LDS church here. It's great, though: we get to use their building and grounds for our dance class and we hire one of their recent converts. Our place is wonderful--lots of living room and 3 bathrooms, but we do all sleep in a crowded room right now (see above--my bed's in the corner). Today we're going to help build a hospital. Wow. I know I'm in the honeymoon period right now, but this seems just about ideal. Seesta Kaya put it best, though: "What you'll love most about Belize is the way people love."

Thought of the Day

What have you done with your hands today?

Today, among other things, I:

-put in contacts
-tied my bootlaces
-cut up an apple
-picked up trash in my car
-put on a bandaid
-ate an ice cream sandwich
-petted my dog
-filled in a form at the doctor's office


Now think: what if I didn't have access to clean water and soap to wash my hands between those steps? I like my dog, but I don't want him on my contacts. And those people at the doctor's seemed a little sketchy for me to want to put them on my ice cream sandwich. With hand washing stations, people in Belize can clean their hands between steps. Today, think about it: where have your hands been?

What You Get For Your Money

So some people have been asking what these projects are that I'm doing. I'm thrilled to give you the low-down on what good you can do. Here's what your money gets you:

$12--Soccer ball and materials for an orphanage or residential school
$35--Crafts for a school
$45--A handwashing station for communities with poor sanitation (only about half of Belize has adequate sanitation)
$125--A course in sanitation so that principles can be re-taught by mothers and fathers and teachers.
$200--A community-use toilet. It sounds silly, but many diseases are spread by lack of good toilets.
$250--An adobe stove to safely let out the lung-aching smoke of fire cooking.


Whether you just like to know what the money goes for or if you want to sponsor an entire project (say, a toilet for your annoying brother), these numbers give you an idea of what it costs to make HELP projects a reality.
In fact, if you donate these amounts and send me an email (or just post here), I'll make you up a handsome card like this:


A donation of $ 125 has been made in your name. This amount funds a sanitation course in a community to empower the poor to help their families, living longer, happier and healthier lives.



Man, that sounds like a much better present than dry, rubbery sausages or another tie.

Do-Gooders

Remember do-gooders? Sometimes they were meddling kids solving a mystery; sometimes they were eager youngsters cleaning up a community park and winning the hearts of grumpy old men; sometimes they were superheroes saving us from nefarious bad guys. But do-gooders were always out there, doing something, making the world a better place in the face of seemingly insurmountable odds, despite their own problems and doubts.

Is there still do-gooding to get done?

I've been reading a lot about aid, foreign development, and whether it's possible for folk to come in to a country, work their hearts out, spend some money on projects, and make a contribution that lasts long after the pictures are developed and tan has faded. William Easterly is skeptical. John Wood is enthusiastic. Mary Hedengren is curious.

So I've decided to head into this myself, full-force. For six weeks, I'll be living in Belize working with an organization called HELP International to try to do good. I chose HELP for a few good reasons. Not only are HELP locally based, but they follow the advice that both Easterly and Wood can agree on: be transparent, operate with low overhead, welcome "client" feedback, demand local involvement. I'm going to try this thing out, see what it's like and try to see if it's possible to do real, lasting good in this world.

But it's not just about me.

I want all of my friends and family to be involved in this adventure, so I'm asking you to get involved. Follow me on this blog as I post about my preparation and training for this experience, and as I post photos and stories from in-country. Read about the sanitary conditions in Belize. Especially, please donate to my project fund. 100% of the money will go to funding projects in Belize. You can donate in two ways:

1. If you want to give fast and easy, please donate through my Smart Pig account. Unlike PayPal, there's no fee, and you can see how your donation gets us closer to my $800 goal.
2. If you want to give a large, tax-deductible amount of money [HELP is a 501(c)(3)], write a check out to HELP International with my name and "Belize" in the memo area. Since HELP just moved to a larger office, you probably ought to send it to me until I figure out their new address.

Overall, my goal is to reach $1600 for projects before I leave for Belize: $800 of small donations through Smart Pig and $800 of big donations. We don't have much time: I fly out June 9th.

You can be a part of this grand adventure to help people live healthier, happier lives. To create lasting community sanitation. To be a do-gooder.