Picture Frames

As many of you know, this past year, Be the Change did not ship Christmas presents to Thailand, instead, we sent $500 (thanks to all of you).

As many of you also know, Haiti is a place that has always been in my heart, and even more so lately with the earthquake that devastated the country on January 12th.

As many of you also know we are affiliated with a wonderful organization in Haiti called the Restavek Freedom Foundation.

As many of you also know, if I watch one more thing on CNN about Haiti and the earthquake, I might end up on a plane bound for Port-au-Prince.

And lastly, as many of you also know, I tend to ask, often, "What do you need?"

So, this winter while working on getting Christmas presents to the children in Thailand, I did just that and asked someone from Restavek Freedom what the child slaves in Haiti would like for Christmas. I asked them what, if anything, were they able to do for the children in Haiti at Christmastime. When we made blankets for these children over a year ago and I was told that no one from Restavek Freedom had ever seen a child in Haiti with a blanket, and that they were sure the children in Haiti would not know what to do with a blanket of their own, I thought those words were some of the saddest words I had ever heard.

I might have been wrong.

When I asked what the children in Haiti might want for Christmas, the answer made me cry.

A picture. Of themseleves.

That's it. That's what they wanted.
Because the truth is, these children that are held as slaves have never, ever had a picture of themselves.

Both of these responses, about blankets and pictures, moved us into action at Be the Change.

This past Christmas, Restavek Freedom was taking care of getting each child a picture of themselves, but we decided we wanted them to have a frame for this picture. We wanted them to have a special way to display it. We want them to be able to look at themselves and smile and know how beautiful and special they are.

We know that right now things in Haiti are chaotic, to say the least. But one of the many things these children could really use right now is a sense of normalcy. That is only one of the reasons our committment to the enslaved children in that country, and the Restavek Freedom Foundation, is stronger than ever. In big ways and small ways alike, they need our help now, more than ever.

We know that lately, the outreach for Haiti has been pouring in, and righfully so. Like us, we assume that your inbox has been flooded with requests of funds for relief work being done in Haiti. We even sent one such request a few weeks ago.

But this time we're not asking for money, we are asking for your time. We are asking for 4 hours (10-2) on the afternoon of March 13th to come together at the Lutheran Church of the Resurrection (1700 Makefield Road, Yardley, PA 19067) to decorate picture frames that Be the Change has already purchased for these children. You don't need to be an artist (trust me!). All you need to do is bring yourself and a sandwhich (we'll supply the drinks and desserts--and who doesn't like desserts?!)and join us for an afternoon of making frames so that these children have a way to display their pictures, and more importantly to know that they matter. We have purchased wooden frames that need some color :) We will supply the paint and lots of fun decorating material! This is an opportunity for you to send a personal, caring message to a child in Haiti to remind them that during this very difficult time in their life, someone living far away, but under the same sky is thinking of them.

With Much Hope,
Kara, Diane, Kim, Cheryl and Nicole