I wanted to end the week on a hopeful note, but I also had to say something about Haiti where hope is hard to find.
Some progress is being being made, but so much remains to be done.
About 185,000 tarpaulins or tents have been handed out, according to U.N. figures released last week, enough to provide shelter to only about 40% of the people in need. The relief effort is lagging even further in the increasingly frantic push to dig a sufficient number of latrines or install portable toilets in the hundreds of camps.
The unsanitary conditions, experts fear, could lead to an explosion of disease when the rains arrive.
And the old and the poor are suffering so much.
Residents are bathed outdoors with a bucket and try to cover their nakedness. They spend the long, hot afternoons in hospital beds lined up side by side, six to a tent, fanning themselves with pieces of cardboard. They beg for water to drink.
It's hard for me to grasp that kind of suffering. But the look in the eyes of Sébastien who just came back from Haiti, tells me all I need to know.
And of course this doesn't help.
So this is how I cheered him up today. By telling him about some Canadians who are trying to make sure that the world doesn't forget.
And by playing their song over and over again...
When I get older I will be stronger.
From Canada to Haiti with love and HOPE.
Have a great weekend everyone...
