I'm one of the lucky ones

I am going to be 65 in July.  I have had a wonderful life so far -- there are many more years to come.  I have never lived through a war, never lived through a depression, never a tornado, a hurricane, or an earthquake.  I have never known what it is to live without food or water.  Never had to sleep on a sidewalk. Never had to live in the same clothes day after day because that is all that is left.  Never known what it is like to not have medical care -- first class medical care --  a dentist right there down the street and an optometrist anytime I need her.  

My children are just as fortunate.  They've had clothes on their backs, a roof over their heads and food in their tummies, (three times a day) and they were reminded of that every time they asked why they didn't get an allowance.

Unfortunately I cannot say the same for the children of Haiti.  I have watched the television news broadcasts from the time I first heard of the earthquake.  My family doctor was in Haiti that week-end and had flown out 2 hours before the earthquake struck.  His two boys were still there visiting old friends.  The devastation that hit this poor country is beyond belief.  Little children sitting on the sidewalks bewildered by what has happened, children being administered to by "white doctors" and crying for Mama or Papa and Mama and Papa are gone.  Orphans sleeping on sidewalks because their building collapsed and now have no place else to go.  Children in hospitals that are now so structurally unsound that they are being looked after in courtyards under the blazing hot sun.

The Oakville Quilters Guild is holding a free workshop, with fabulous door prizes and a free catered lunch for its members on Saturday, March 27th.  We are making "over" quilts to send to the children at Grace Children's Hospital in Port-au-Prince.  There are no sheets, no pillowcases, no towels, no washcloths.  The buildings that these supplies were in -- gone!  So structurally unsound that you cannot enter.  Staff so terrified of what could happen again, they cannot enter.

Starting on Tuesday I will feature a variety of "over" quilts that you can make to contribute to this most worthwhile cause.  The quilts will measure approximately 36" x 36" when completed.  There is no batting inside these quilts, just cotton pieces sewn together -- that's all.

I heard something the other day that rings so true.........."The poorest people of Oakville are not as poor as the peoples of Haiti."