Haitian Relief Waiting in the Wings

So Thursday morning in Seattle, Neil comes down to breakfast and says: "What are you doing next week?"

"Funny you should ask that - I was about to ask you the same question."

"Wanna to fly to Haiti?"

"That's what I was going to ask you."

You'd think it would be simple to load up 600 lbs of urgent supplies and up to four people in order help out. As I previously taken Red Cross Shelter Operations courses, it isn't so easy. You need organization, coordination and most importantly trained volunteers. It's great that individuals want to help, but without training it becomes even more taxing on relief workers. Which is why at times like this, the Red Cross and other organizations ask for money instead of time.

The stories coming from the Haitian airport are daunting so far: circling for 2-3 hrs, no fuel at destination, no coordination to get supplies out. The military is far better equipped for this. A C5 burns in fuel in one minute the equivalent of the Mustang's total baggage capacity.

Nevertheless, I've registered at the NBAA Haitian Relief web site and waiting for their call. In additional to money, I hope to be able to help with time.