I have to confess, I’ve been avoiding the Haitian earthquake. I’ve been dealing with some anxiety issues in my own life and it felt like if I even opened that door, if I even let myself become aware of just how much suffering is happening there, it would be the last straw and I would just fall to pieces.
Like most of us, I imagine, I don’t have millions of dollars or medical expertise, so my only option is to say prayers and give my meager contribution to a good charity. And then sit back holding my breath and hoping these people get help. But I found something. I found something I can do, and hopefully you’ll help too, that can make an actual tangible difference to change the lives of five orphaned children and reunite a family.
I’ve known my friend Lindsay Crapo since college. We were roommates and close friends. She has always been a singularly loving and devoted person, loyal and actively compassionate – not just feeling for others, but motivated to do something to make it better. She and her husband Trevor, a marriage and family therapist, have been married for ten years and have three biological children.
But they also have five children in Haiti.
Lindsay and Trevor have been working with an orphanage in Haiti for the last three years. They travel down several times a year and volunteer wherever they can while they wait for all the red tape to clear before they could take their children home. International adoption is always complicated, but it seems especially complicated in Haiti. Lindsay and Trevor have already been through the courts. These children bear their last name. But they still have to wait until the government allows them to leave, which they hadn’t been willing to do for a very long time.
The orphanage where the Crapo’s children are living was in Port-Au-Prince the epicenter of last week’s earthquake that is being called one of the worst natural disasters in recorded history. Lindsay has been posting facebook status updates whenever she gets word. All her children are safe, much of the staff is safe, but there has been tremendous loss of loved ones, and still more great need. It is expected that the earthquake has created as many as 1,000,000 new orphans.
With this crisis, the government has expedited the immigration of these completed adoptions.These five children, ranging in age from 1 year old to 16, that Lindsay has been waiting for should be cleared to come home at any moment. When this happens, she will at most have only a few days to arrange travel and healthcare. It’s more likely that she will only have hours. For the first time in all these years of her efforts, Lindsay is asking for help. She needs to raise thousands of dollars immediately. She has to be prepared at a moments notice to pay for seven plane tickets from Port-Au-Prince to Florida. From there she’ll eventually have to travel to her home in Idaho, but she also needs to be prepared to stay in Florida long enough for her children to receive medical care. She doesn’t know exactly what condition her children will be in and at the very least they will most likely be dealing with dehydration.
I know we all have to be wary of giving money to anyone who asks, but I can testify that this is a worthy cause. Lindsay is my real life friend, and these children will be so blessed to be in her home. You can read more about her at her blog On the Wings of Miracles.
Lindsay’s also been featured in some local news. There are print stories here and here, and you can watch this video.
At her blog is also a donation button. I know times are so hard right now, but please consider donating. Any amount you can give makes a difference to this family. Please give what you can and then give thanks for the health and safety of your loved ones. And then please spread the word.
