| Dear all folks who pledged money for the
Mission Manna fund raiser hike,
Well, somehow I finished the Pacific Crest Trail. On September
17th, 2011, I touched the northern terminus monument at the
Canadian border, having hiked a total of 2655 miles from the
Mexican border. I am writing this as I camp 1/4 mile into
Canada. I am trying to soak everything in, yet there is not
enough ink in the world to pen all the intricate details about
what just happened. And I wouldn't make you suffer through that.
But I would like to share one of the things I have thought a lot
about during this trip.
I know from the last long distance
hike I did that it is difficult at first to adjust to the
silliness and seriousness of society after being in the woods
for 5 months. But this time I feel I have a little more
ammunition to combat this mental nightmare. Throughout the
journey, I thought a lot about the differences in Trail Life,
American Society, and Current Haitian Life. This has allowed me
to put in perspective the accessibility of basic life
necessities. It also makes me want to become less
materialistic and more helpful to those in need as a permanent,
personal quest from now on.
As I give the following examples of what I'm talking
about, I want to stress that I am not sugar coating American
Society. Obviously, we have homelessness too, and our system and
way of life has serious problems we need to vigilantly keep in
check. I also know we all have our own unique, personal problems
we are dealing with. However, I now feel that sometimes
we, generally speaking, move too fast to realize how fortunate we
are to simply have bare necessities readily available. The
examples that come to mind are water, housing, food, emergency
health care, and the ability to handle natural disasters.
| Water |
| Trail life - It is often hard to find water, which
one needs very badly. However, if you are smart about
it, and willing to carry weight over long distances,
clean water can be had. Or you could simply quit the
trail and go live in American Society. |
American Society - We can basically go to any number
of rooms in our homes and businesses and proceed to turn
little handles. These handles cause endless clean water
to flow. We can drink, clean, and even pour it all
over our bodies in large basins we call tubs.
For the
most part, we think nothing of it. |
| Haitian Life - Presently over 1/2 the population
(4.5 million) of Haiti lack access to clean water and
sewer because the infrastructure was so badly damaged by
the earthquake. Existing systems have fallen into
disrepair. Water is intermittent for those lucky enough
to even have water. |
| Housing |
| Trail life - On the
trail you stay in a tent and sleep on a ground pad.
If one of these gets lost or broken, you just have to
make it to the next resupply point and figure out how to
get a replacement. Or you could simply quit the
trail and go live in American Society. |
| American Society -
Generaly speaking, most of us stay in structural boxes
that provide us shelter from the elements. Inside these
boxes are big, fluffy, square things that we lay on when
we sleep in order to make us comfortable. |
| Haitian Life - Over
600,000 Haitians live in makeshift displacement camps or
are completely homeless. They are lucky if they even get
a cot. |
| Food |
Trail life - On the
trail one eats the same exact thing all the time. It has
to be lightweight, inexpensive, and high in calories. 5
months of tuna, instant potatoes, and snickers gets
really old fast. But at some resupply points you can pig
out on ice cream.
Or you could simply quit the
trail and go live in American Society. |
| American Society - We
have vast farmlands. Companies and farms actually try to
convince consumers that their food is the best through
paid advertising. Many people are quite large because of
excessive eating. |
| Haitian Life -
Deforestation and overfarming have left the ground
barren for the present generation. Over half the people
suffer from malnutrition, and many people are helplessly
hungry. |
| Emergency
Healthcare |
Trail life - If you
need medical attention on the trail, as long as a
message can be sent, a helicopter will come rescue you.
Then you are in American Society. |
| American Society - If
you need medical attention, you or someone around you
can stick a finger outward and press 3 buttons (911) on
a readily accessible contraption you talk into. You then
can communicate with emergency services, which have the
same contraption. These folks will personally drive very
fast to your house with state of the art equipment to
help you. |
| Haitian Life - There is
basically only one hospital that can handle trauma, and
there is no blood bank to speak of. Irrepairable roads
make some areas not accessible. Relaying messages that
help is needed is extremely difficult. |
| Ability to Handle
Natural Disasters |
| Trail life - If a
natural disaster happens, you probably could use map and
compass to get back to American Society. |
| American Society - The
US is so big that usually natural disasters affect only
one particular area at a time. This means all the
rest of the country comes running to help. Also, we
somehow come up with money to help, and have resources
and reserves on standby, for the most part. |
| Haitian Life - Haiti is
small, and is the poorest country in the western
hemisphere. In the event of a natural disaster, it is
difficult to help themselves because the whole country
is usually affected and they have very little money. |
In conclusion, I would like to ask three things of you.
1) If you would like to hike the Pacific Crest
Trail, please know that I would be happy to get together with
you and help you plan. But initially I would say do not do it on
a year that there was 300% average yearly snowfall the previous
winter.
2) If you do not already do so, next time you
turn on your water, or take a shower, take a second to realize
how special that moment is.
3) Please realize that the money you donated to
Mission Manna will be spent very wisely, helping many people in
many different ways. Please consider adopting Haiti as a
cause you support on an ongoing basis. Not necessarily
money. Even keeping up with how serious the situation is, so
that you can tell others, can put this issue in the spotlight
and motivate the right person at the right time to donate money
and resources.
http://www.missionmanna.org is a great place to educate
yourself and find out ways you can help.
Take care and thank you so much!
John Kelleher
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