People in Need Partnership

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Thanks for your concern about my travels. I know that you are thinking about my safety, but I don't think you understand the reasons I am going, and I don't think it's at all fair to claim that my efforts will be futile. Here is my view:

-- Our eighty members are waiting for news from their partners. Many of them will want to help more if they know the situation of their partners and how they can help. The sooner we are able to do this, the sooner help can be given. This could save lives and provide other crucial aid.
-- I am traveling with enough money to provide help immediately. Some of this money was donated by our partners within the last two days.
-- Our staff needs my direct help. I have the salary that is due to them.
-- If our offices and staff are okay, they will need my guidance in reestablishing our program.
-- I am in contact with a firefighter (John Gordon) trying to meet me in Santo Domingo or Port-au-Prince, who can be of practical help to us and our partners.
-- The integrity of People in Need Partnership, with its distinctive approach and benefits, is at stake. It is also an opportunity for PINP to prove itself and expand.

Aside from all those practical reasons, there are several personal reasons that I want to go to Haiti now. People in Need Partnership is based on the idea that what is primary in development work should be understanding and care. We claim that the partnerships are real, that the human bonds transcend self-interest and are strong enough to galvanize us to action. I need to prove that this is the case. In some ways the PINP staff and partners are like family, which means that I want to help them even when it hurts.

This is also an opportunity to see how my ideas perform in the most difficult situations. And it is part of my personal development and will surely play a role in the many other idealistic projects I am very close to starting. It is also a chance to think about, write about, and share my experiences and insights from my special perspective.

Love,
Geoff

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