Overwhelmed

So I am so overwhelmed..but in such a good way! Over the past few weeks myself and my friends have been working hard (I am currently running on 2 hours of sleep..but will head back to bed soon!)to put this event together and its now happening! And I cannot tell you how overwhelmed I am at the response we have gotten. Now I know my friends are generous...generous with their time, friendship and funds but the past few weeks have blown me out of the water!

I want to take this time to personally and publicly Thank Barbara Berney, without whom this even would never have gotten off the ground.Not only has Barb has used her 20 yrs in the biz to solicit more donations then I know what to do with (other then auction off for a good cause)she (along with Rob Scott!) found us a venue (the Empress) when our other choice told us we could not have it at their establishment! She is truly a wonderful person and someone I am go grateful to have in my corner!

I would also like to Thank Ann Freeman, Patti Hack, Ginette Bettiol and Sherri Birdsell all of whom have contributed time, donations,ideas and guidance! You ladies are the best!

I must say I am so excited for Friday! Not only because we are raising money for a great cause but because (selfishly so..) different groups of my friends are getting to meet for the first time! You have all heard me talk of the others so now you will be able to put faces to names!

Thanks again to everyone who has donated to this cause...I will be putting together a formal list for on the night but here's a sampling of the donations and thus items up for grabs at the fundraiser! So bring your cheque books, loonies and your party hats (geez I need sleep!)

Raffle/ Silent Auction Prizes (they just keep comin..Thank You Edmonton! You truly are the most caring city!!)
GC'S: Copper Pot, Culina, Earls, Cineplex (movie night out), Ric's Grill, Pagan Tattoo, Packrat Louie,Megatunes, Russo Hair Salon

Gift Baskets: Bath and Body Works, wine and cheese, Starbucks, Rebo (Haitian Coffee)

Other Wicked Items: Professional Teeth Whitening Kit ($200 value), Eden Salon (Sheri Anger: Cut and Color $200 value), Hoodies (Empress and Black Dog), 3 Photographs (Tammy Hale Photography), Delicious Baked Goods (The Half-Baker Baker) 3 Haircuts from Propoganda Hair Salon and much more!!

Can't wait! Hope to see those of you residing in the vicinity there on Friday...and for the others I could check airlines..although I don't have any friends there!
(Empress Ale House 9912-82 Ave 7pm!)

Lise
Any questions please feel free to call me 780-278-7186 but give me a few hours to catch up on sleep right now :-)

LA Times - Opinion

LA Times - Opinion

Yesterday my best friend Sherri's son had his 7th birthday. A couple of weeks ago Sherri talked with Noah about my trip to Haiti (she always educates the kids on what I am doing and Why). After the conversation Noah told Sherri he wanted to help Rose build a house. He decided to not ask for presents for his birthday instead he asked for money to put towards the housing project...A hard thing to do for a 7 year old I am sure (I'm 35 and I still like birthday presents!!)

So the party was yesterday and Noah announced to Sherri that he wanted to also donate his change that he has been collecting (thus the above picture!) What a kind Little guy! He and his friends collected $285.

When I told Noah how much he had raised he asked me "Auntie Lise is that enough to build Rose a house?" I told him that it was the start and that he had been the one to kick it off...He smiled his little sheepish smile and went back to building his lego motorhome...

"maybe one day I can go see Rose's House"

"yes Noah, I am sure one day we you can come with me to see Rose's house"

For all that is bad and wrong with the world these days there still are some pretty amazing people doing kind things for others....

and they come in all shapes, sizes and ages...

Thank you Noah and thank you Sherri!

Love Auntie Lise and Rose!

The Show Goes On!!

So with the help of my friends (who says working in the service industry for 20 years isn't without its perks right Barb!?) we have been able to find a new venue for our fundraiser next week! So the party will go ahead.

Friday July 2 2010
The Empress Ale House 9912 82 Ave.
7pm

There will be raffles and a silent auction as well as other games and prizes.
Thanks so much to Sue Kiernan and the other owners of Empress for stepping in and helping us out in this matter!
For those of you that need to eat the Empress is a pub and they do not serve food but they do serve a wonderful arrangement of beverages!!
If you have any questions feel free to call me at 780-278-7186 or email me at lbudreo@hotmail.com

Sunshine...Heartbreak...

Sunshine...
Heartbreak....

I just found out that the little boy in the picture with me in the blog titled Sunshine is dying...for lack of *%&#ing food...What is wrong with this world that a 5year old boy dies because he has never had enough food... I sit here and the tears come because its so unfair. I know I cannot make the changes that need to be made on the grander scale so that stuff like this doesn't happen and at times I feel hard pressed to think that the things that I do do will ever make a difference...

When do things change, where is the light at the end of that long, never ending tunnel. I know that it's hard to convey what it feels like to hold a starving child in your arms...The morning I left Cazele (where the center for malnourished children is) I woke up at 0530 to the voice of Ojean asking for water. I got up, gave him water, changed him (because at 5 he is still wearing diapers that would fit a 2yr old) and took him outside with me. We sat and I talked to him. I am sure he could not understand my English but he sat and looked at me I am hoping, happy to be being held...He was able to sit up on his own, feed himself and drink water himself.. But now, and such is the cycle for children suffering from malnutrition from birth he is too weak, he has no reserves to fight off even the mildest of infections...so he will die and leave me to wonder how many children like him are out there...not only in Haiti but in the whole world...

So very sad...

$5000...

$5000


Let me give you some stats as food for thought!!

Canada: Average weekly income: $844= aprox $3000/mo
Haiti: 80% of the population lives below the poverty line, 54% live in abject poverty

Canada: life expectancy for women is 83 yrs and men 76 yrs (born in 2006)
Haiti: life expectancy for women is 59 years and men is 54 yrs

Canada: 37% of 20yr olds are in tertiary education
Haiti: 47% of Haitians are Illiterate.

Heartline is helping the people of Haiti rebuild..they were there helping before the Earthquake and will be there for years to come. They have raised over 50K USD towards housing for the people of Haiti. On my last trip I asked John how I could access some of this funding to help Rose and her grandma…he just looked at me and said “Lise they have been a part of your life, you have been a part of our life so we will help them..” and that was that! I can’t explain to you how it felt that day talking to John or the day that I spoke with Rose’s grandma about them getting a house…there are no words.

I have long struggled with feelings of inadequacy in the help/assistance that I can provide when I look at the whole “big picture”. What this trip and my time in Haiti has taught me ( a lesson I so needed to learn!) was that to help one is just as important as helping the many. So that is what I, with the help of Beth and John and Heartline am endeavoring to do.

The cost of a house in Haiti, land included is approximately $5000 USD. The average salary of a Haitian, prior to the earthquake was $500/year. You don’t have to do complex math to figure that one out…the idea of “giving” a house to someone has weighed on my mind since deciding to do this and here’s what I have come up with (not sure if you will agree but here goes). For the most part the people of Haiti were going about their business, living their lives (ones very different from you and I ) when everything changed in the matter of 45 seconds. Not only were lives lost and/or altered, livelihoods were taken away from those who worked every day to squeak out a living, people lost all their worldly possessions and were left literally with the shirts on their backs…How do you rebuild a career when you are 50 years old and find yourself instantly the primary caregiver of 2 infants? A new reality, one I could not imagine.

Many found refuge in tent cities which have provided limited security and safety up to a point. Now the rains have come and Haiti is preparing for one of the worst hurricane seasons in 50 years..where in that do you find the time to rebuild? How do you rebuild when you don’t have a safe place to put your head at night? When you don’t have both your legs anymore…

Its not wrong to what for another the peace and security that comes with a home..shelter from the heat, rain and winds..a door to lock , a place to call home…$5000 is, in my mind a small price to pay for all the goodness that comes from helping just one individual who comprises but 1 piece of that “big picture”. Rose and grandma are part of that picture..a part I can help in the here and now..$5000 doesn’t seem that much…

So this year for my birthday, the day I came into a privileged part of the world I ask you to help me make life a little more secure for just 1 person! Heartline will, with our help continue to help the people of Haiti live everyday a little better!

Below is Heartlines website if you would like to donate. Unfortunately Heartline is not registered in Canada so they cannot give tax receipts..sorry! And if your around Edmonton on July 2nd join us for the fundraiser at The Next Act pub (and to celebrate my birthday too…you all know how I feel about birthdays )

http://heartlineministries.org/financials.aspx

Love Lise

Near and Dear...

I have long been a supporter of Doctors Without Borders. And as those of you who have been following my blog know I have just recently started becoming more involved in the area of Childhood Malnutrition...soo imagine my thoughts tonight as I jumped onto the MSF website to find that their latest campaign is an attempt to combat that very thing...I have spent the past few hours scouring the site and learning...

If nothing else please watch the following videos about the campaign and if you are so inclined please feel free to support MSF (Medicines Sans Frontiers= Doctors Without Borders) programs that provide the types of nutrition required by the children of these developing nations.

More to come on this in the near future!