Week 12 - Restavec Freedom Alliance

Former Restavec children are provided with a loving home environment free of slavery.

I heard about this organization from a friend of mine and the mother of one of my daughter's classmates. I enjoy donating to organizations that are meaningful to friends and family.

Restavec is from a French word reste avec meaning  "one who stays with" and refers to children in Haiti who are sent to live with more affluent families. This is a cultural norm that according to The United Nations is "a modern form of slavery." After the hurricane in 2010, the number of children living as Restavecs increased dramatically as parents were no longer able to care for their children.

The children are promised a better standard of living as a Restavec, however the reality is far different. Most of the children are girls under the age of 9 years old and most are abused mentally, physically, and sexually. They endure long hours as domestic servants with no time to play and rarely have access to even limited education. Children of this age have no voice and with no one looking out for their best interest, no hope for a better future. At the age of 15 Haitian law requires that people are paid for their work, so most Restavecs are turned out of their households to fend for themselves.

The Restavec Freedom Alliance provides relief for Restavec children. They provide a safe home, education, food, clean drinking water, and most importantly a loving family. The first home set up by the Alliance houses 18 children and has a waiting list of well over a 100! A second home is under construction and plans are underway for a school to serve the home's children as well as children from the surrounding community.

Current RFA home in Chantal, Haiti

My donation to the Restavec Freedom Alliance will be matched 100% by my company. Also be sure to check out their Facebook page.

Week 11 - Concern Worldwide US

By now everyone has heard of the Kony 2012 video that has gone viral on the Internet in the past few weeks. And so some suggested I donate to Invisible Children as part of my project. I have chosen not to donate to this organization for a number of reasons. First, as soon I watched the video, my intuition that something was not quite right kicked in. I don't disagree with anything per se in the video, however I believe it is misleading and preys on sensitive emotions. Second,  the actions of the LRA and Kony are no doubt atrocious, but most of the content explained in the video happened in the past. The video was largely not appreciated in Uganda according to a video report by CNN. Third, I think the video  has generated enough income already for the organization to meet it's mission for the short term. And lastly, Invisible Children is not endorsed by the BBB which I find suspicious.

Instead I chose to donate to Concern Worldwide US. "Concern Worldwide is a non-governmental, international, humanitarian organization dedicated to the reduction of suffering and working towards the ultimate elimination of extreme poverty in the world’s poorest countries." (from Concern Worldwide website) I designated my donation to Uganda in light of Kony 2012.

Concern Worldwide responds to humanitarian disasters in 25 of the world's poorest countries. They focus on 5 areas: Education, Emergency Response, Health, HVI/AIDS, and Livelihoods

As the illustration points out poverty is at the center of a number of greater issues. And I truly believe education is the single best thing we can do to help. Concern Worldwide has a mission of providing access to basic education in the poorest countries. Simply put, education equals greater economic opportunity for these people. And that opportunity spider weds throughout the communities in which the people live.


We place particular emphasis on reaching those who have been excluded from the formal schooling system, such as girls, children living in slums or isolated rural areas, orphans, working children, children belonging to minority groups, children affected and infected by HIV and AIDS, and children with disabilities. (from Concern Worldwide website)



My donation will be matched 100% by my company. Happy Spring everyone!

Week 10 - Massachusetts General Hospital PTSD Research Lab

In light of the recent killing of 16 civilians in Afghanistan by a U.S. soldier, I am donating this week to Mass General's PTSD research and Psychophysiology lab. Multiple deployments, unclear missions, poor leadership and combat stress have taken a tremendous toll on our troops and current estimates say 1 in 5 soldiers come home with PTSD or other psychological disorders. I am a strong supporter of research initiatives aimed at learning more about the causes, treatments, and prevention of PTSD.

The effects of PSTD are profound.

In my own family experience, decades of untreated PSTD have exacted a significant toll on our well-being as a family. The emotional withdrawal that occurs in a loved one experiencing PTSD is devastating to say the least. It is a constant struggle to remind oneself not take hurtful behaviors personally, to stand up and try in the best way possible to support the healing process of the individual and the family unit. The statistic of 1 in 5 soldiers does not even come close to the reality that each of those soldier's PTSD symptoms then effect his or her family members raising the numbers of people suffering significantly.

PTSD research is critical.

New research in the last decade has produced treatments for PSTD that are more effective than anything yet discovered. One of these treatments, EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) has proved to be extremely effective. The data in 24 randomized trials supports The US Department of Veterans Affairs recommendation of EMDR as an approach to treatment. This is just one example of where extensive research has resulted in a new treatment.

The Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and Psychophysiology Lab at Mass General is conducting the following research projects:*

1. Positron emission tomographic study of cerebral blood flow during traumatic mental imagery in PTSD (R.K. Pitman, Principal Investigator). The major goal of this study is to evaluate which regions of the brain are selectively activated during traumatic re-experiencing.
2. Secondary prevention of PTSD with propranolol (R.K. Pitman, Principal Investigator). The major goal of this project is to investigate the effectiveness of the beta-adrengergic blocker propranolol in preventing the development of PTSD in persons presenting to the MGH Emergency Department following a traumatic experience.
3. Prospective psychophysiologic study of risk for PTSD (S.P Orr, Principal Investigator). The major goal of this project is to examine a promising set of pre-trauma psychophysiologic, endocrinologic, and psychometric measures for their ability to predict the occurrence of PTSD following exposure to traumatic events in firefighter/EMT and police recruits.

* Information copied from the Mass General PTSD website.

Week 10 will be matched 100% by my company.

Week 9 - Maple Leaf Mission

"Landon was delivered at 24 weeks and was 1 lb, 2 oz when he was born in April of this year. Since then, he has had multiple surgeries and is doing well - he is now 7 lbs and almost 6-months-old! A miracle baby indeed!" - Session donated by Brenda De Los Santos Photography

I discovered the Maple Leaf Mission when scrolling through my Facebook news feed and seeing an incredibly touching picture of a newborn infant with an oxygen tube. The photo grabbed my attention and prompted me to read the story behind it. It turns out that a photographer that I had worked with in the past volunteers her talents with the Maple Leaf Mission whose mission is to capture lasting memories through photography of terminally ill or struggling loved ones.

All those who know me know that I love photography and pictures. I am drawn to the story told through images whatever they may be. I treasure my family photographs and I could lose every object in my life with little heartache, but I would be devastated to lose my pictures. They are my window into the past and a way to relive a moment that my mind didn't fully retain.

So the slogan "The Gift of Life In Pictures" really struck me. For families about to lose a loved one, the gift of beautiful memories through photos is priceless. And through the Maple Leaf Mission, these are offered at no cost to these deserving families.

Photographers around the world are encouraged to volunteer their services to nominated families in their area. The Mission does three types of photo sessions: Families in which a member has a terminal illness, families in which a member has a debilitating or life-limiting illness and military reunions.

This organization is based in Edmonton, Alberta so unfortunately will not quality for my company match. However, they provide services to families all over the world. More information about the Maple Leaf Mission can be found here or on Facebook.

Also please check out Brenda De Los Santos Photography