Changes

So, I just put up a button today which links to Habitat for Humanity. (I know it’s rough but, hey, I made it
myself!) It replaces the one that I had
for The Liberal Blogosphere/Red Cross help site. And here’s why I felt a need for change:

I had been reading recently about some abuses within
the Red Cross. I’m not saying that these
accusations are true. Neither am I
saying that they are not. The fact is
that there is no way that I could know the inner workings of a major
organization.

But just reading these got me thinking about what the
gulf coast needs NOW. And from my
perspective, it is no longer a matter of relief so much as recovery and
rebuilding. There is a long road to
getting the area back to some sort of semblance of normalcy. I think that this is going to be more
difficult if we get stuck in the first step of the process.

And I know how hard it is to stop looking at
the photos from the beginning of the month. Trust me, I know! I got so damn
angry, and it has been a challenge to tear myself away from that. Now, I want to know what we need to do as a
national community to help our neighbors…in the long run.

There are governmental agencies which are working on
recovery. But so very much cannot be
recovered. It has to be rebuilt. I feel that this is where Habitat for Humanity comes
in. They have a great history when
dealing with disasters.

My husband’s family at large is looking at replacing
our gift exchange this Christmas with a family photo swap, along with a
donation to some charity which is directly involved with Katrina
survivors. After all, how many of us are
not constantly trying to rid ourselves of household clutter? I know that I don’t need any more knick
knacks. But there are so many people out there who just need the basics.

So, there you go. That’s my $0.02 for today.

(And, here, you probably thought all I cared about was
kidneys!)