I planned to write a post about joining the Board of Trustees of LISC, the Local Initiative Support Corporation, but my thoughts have been overwhelmed by the situation in Haiti. As everyone has said - and as they said when the tsunami hit Asia and when Katrina devastated New Orleans - the damage and death is overwhelming. I don’t think we are really able to comprehend the enormity of the loss, so I won’t even try to comment on it.
Two thoughts do continue to come to mind, though. First, the willingness of people to respond to others with great compassion and generosity is truly amazing. I believe that there is something in each of us, for no reason other than that we are human, that makes us rise to help others who are in need. It doesn’t matter that we don’t know them, that we will never know them or that we aren’t completely sure what to do. Our reaction is to do something, whether it’s stopping when we see a stranger with a flat tire on the side of the road or sending what we can to thousands impacted by a mass tragedy, as in Haiti. (So as not to be too Pollyanna-ish, I do need to point out, that just as we need to be cautious about the stranger who offers to change our flat, we also need to be sure we aren’t being taken in by evil people who set up scams to fraudulently take our donations for their own profit. Donor beware!)
I’m trying to understand how to balance this wonderful generosity of spirit that exists within us against how apathetic we can be about how other people live day in and day out. Last week, 80% of Haitians lived under the poverty line and 54% lived in abject poverty, and we didn’t really care. (Just as a reminder, living in poverty means that you don’t have enough money for the basic necessities of life: food and water, shelter, clothes and health care.) In 2008, the World Bank estimated that 1.4 billion people live at or below the poverty line. I’d bet that few of us knew that number, but I am positive that we all know that there are many people throughout the United States and the world who are in need every day. I’m not quite sure, though, why we have so little enthusiasm for helping them.
I understand the difference between pictures of the emergencies that arise after a natural disaster and the image of chronically homeless people. By definition, an emergency comes on quickly and will pass. It’s a fire we can put out with quick action and a hefty splash of water. It’s something that could happen to anyone.
Chronic problems, of course, are long-term. They are hard. They didn’t appear overnight, and we can’t fix them in a day. We need time, patience and perseverance. And sometimes, it seems that the ones suffering have done something wrong - maybe it’s their own fault that they are where they are.
And, of course, we move on - the news cycle turns, the pictures fade and another emergency comes.
Like so many, we are responding as a Foundation and a Company to the horror that exists in Haiti, and my family is giving personally. But, this week has also made me re-commit myself to doing more every day.
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We donated too. Hope to be able to use my construction background in my retirement next year to help wherever the need may be as a donation. 10 year Home Depot employee #0174.
Bob:
Thanks so much for your generosity. I know that many of us will be involved in the rebuilding process, when the time comes. Home Depot associates are the best volunteers - both in terms of getting the work done, but also in being the most generous of spirit. Kelly