Firebelly Design

January 15, 2010 by Dawn Hancock

Below is a letter directed to me from one of our clients and dear friends of the studio. Please do what you can. Immediate action is so important right now! I assure you this is legit. We will be sending supplies. If you would like to join in with us, please let us know.

Dear family and friends,
I am certain that many of you, like me, are struck dumb by the tragedy in Haiti. I think we must not allow ourselves to be like that. Rather, we must act and mobilize in all the ways that we can. Below is a message from a dear Haitian friend of mine, Daphne Sajous. She and her husband are like family for me. I know her commitment, her family’s commitment and their integrity. Please respond in any way that you can to the multiple (and all reliable) avenues for response that Daphne outlines in her message. Also, please drop she and her family an email of solidarity when you can.

Thank you.
Luta.
Prexy

From: Daphne Sajous-Brady daphnesb@rcn.com
Date: January 15, 2010 12:57:31 AM CST
Subject: Family Update

Dear Family and Friends,
Thank you all for the phone calls and emails asking about my family in Haiti. Your concern, thoughts and prayers have meant a lot.

It is nothing short of a miracle that all of my closest relatives are unharmed. For the most part, they live and work in the heart of the damaged areas. Many of the places they frequent (and ones that I’ve frequented) have been brought to the ground. As a family, we were also very fortunate to have news that my grandmother, aunts, uncles, and cousins were fine the night of the earthquake. Facebook and e-mail have been invaluable. Now, my parents call me to see what has been posted on facebook. Since the initial relief that our close relatives are okay, news has been trickling in about good family friends who are either confirmed dead or are missing.

My family still does not know the extent of the damage and their businesses, children’s schools, etc. Some of their homes are not structurally sound and one uncle’s business is gone. Several of my mother’s brothers and sisters live together on a hill, like a small family compound, in Freres, a suburb of Port-au-Prince. Those homes are intact, but due to aftershocks and uncertainty regarding unseen damage, they have been sleeping outdoors, either in their cars or on porches/decks.

Two of my mother’s sisters have a school in Petionville, another suburb of Port-au-Prince. The school grounds have become a haven for approximately 40 people and school employees and their families who have lost their homes. Because lunch is normally served to the children who attend the school, there are large food provisions. For the moment, my family is not too worried about food because of these reserves.

As many of you may know, my grandmother has a hospital and she along with a few others established it and run it. The hospital is not far from the family compound, and since the earthquake, most of my family members (young, old, doctors and non-doctors alike) have been spending their time there. They have been working tirelessly, but due to the great number of wounded and limited supplies, they have watched many people die. They are currently working with very few supplies. Sheets and blankets from their own homes are being used for bandages and beds.

A second cousin of mine, who normally lives in Miami, is currently doing journalism work with CNN, and he’s helped put my grandmother’s hospital on Sanjay Gupta’s radar, which may draw greater attention to the hospital’s needs. Also, other family members have been contacting organizations in DC to make sure they deliver medical supplies to the hospital when they arrive.

Stateside, I, along with my sister and cousins, have been coordinating efforts to send supplies to the hospital. One cousin, who is in the navy, is organizing a group of military doctors who will enter Haiti through the Dominican Republican. They will deliver supplies and provide services to hospital. Another cousin is a pilot, and he is prepared to use his small plane to make trips from Miami to Haiti with supplies for the hospital.

Many of you have asked if there is anything you can do. Donating money to organizations like Doctors without Borders and UNICEF would be wonderful. If you want to support our family’s efforts to bring supplies to my grandmother’s hospital, Hopital de la Communaute Haitienne, that would also be greatly appreciated. It has functioning ICU and accepts tax deductible checks at the following address:

Haitian Health and Education Foundation
c/o Lynx Air Int’l PO Box 407139
Ft. Lauderdale, FL 33340-7139

Also, supplies can be sent to the following address:

Robert Hare
19731 SW 89 Ave
Miami, Fl. 33157

This is a cousin’s home address where we are gathering goods to be piloted by another family member to Haiti.

This is what is needed:

1. Basics – sheets, blankets, mattresses, food, water, clothes, large garbage bags, cleaning supplies
2. Medical – gauze, wound dressings, large bandages, fluids (e.g., saline), IV fluids, pain medication, needles, antibiotics (e.g., ointment, IV, pills), alcohol/alcohol wipes, any orthopedic care supplies

This has been a very difficult time for me, so I appreciate all of you reaching out. I will keep you posted on any new developments.

Love to all of you,
Daphne

Daphne Sajous-Brady, MA
Learning Specialist
Doctoral Candidate
Communication Sciences & Disorders
Northwestern University

Comments (2)

November 18, 2009 by Antonio Garcia

Traditionally cut along ethnic divides and railways, Chicago's 77 "community areas" are typically so different and disconnected from each other that understanding and relating them can be a complex and challenging maneuver. Firebelly knows this firsthand, working for both Humboldt Park and Wicker Park Bucktown.

Thanks to a new tool on our friend Justin Massa's nonprofit site MoveSmart.org, Chicago's neighborhoods are getting easier to research, explore and understand. The site's Neighborhood Finder provides Chicagoans with interactive maps and data so they can search the City's neighborhoods in smarter, more innovative ways. MoveSmart.org's methodologies are a positive and powerful step to helping natives and newcomers overcome the stereotypes, ignorance and prejudice held by so many regarding communities outside their own. If you dig their approach, support 'em!

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