As I’m sure you all know, the nation of Haiti was completely devastated by a powerful earthquake last week. It’s kind of put things in perspective. Here I am sitting on my nice, shinny Macbook, blogging about beautiful images, logos, websites and such. Meanwhile, thousands and thousands of people have literally lost everything. For many, the loss was fatal.

Help me do my part to help with the relief work in Haiti

It may be cliched to say, but my heart aches. But I’m doing what I can to help! You can too! If you want details on what I’m doing, and how you can help, they are at the end of this post. First, though, let me tell you what Haiti means to me.

My Connection to Haiti

Back in 2006, my wife and I traveled to the Dominican Republic on a humanitarian relief effort (seriously, the Dominican is not as prosperous as some people think). There are millions of Haitian refugees living in the DR, and given the fact that I speak French (albeit not so well anymore) and they speak French Creole, I was able to communicate and speak with many of them. I was touched, transformed and above all humbled by those conversations, and one in particular.

In a tiny little village at the end of a horrible dirt road, and surrounded completely by fields of sugar cane, I met a man, who shall remain unidentified. We’ll call him Louis. Louis was Haitian. He was also educated. We talked briefly about Plato and Aristotle and I found myself amazed that I shared more than just our common humanity with this man. We shared a heritage of thought and philosophy. It stuck me then, and strikes me even harder now, that poverty does more than just rob people of material possessions.

It also robs them of their dignity, even in the eyes of those with the most sincere desire to help.

I never expected to meet such a man. Somehow, I had been expecting the poor to be simple and uneducated. The shattering of that preconception changed my life forever. And for the better.

This is me, drawing pictures for the wonderful kids at Louis' village

As it turned out “Louis” had been a police officer in Haiti, but had found the horrible corruption too much to take. So, he had packed up his family and walked them through the jungle and into the Dominican Republic, where he worked in a factory for a minimal wage. He had a daughter, and when I met him he his wife was expecting twins. I hope and pray that they were born healthy and strong.

So, for me, the Haitian people are more than just another Caribbean nation. They are the brothers and sisters, mothers and fathers, children and cousins of a man whose hand I shook, whose stories I listened to, and whose continued well being I hope and pray for on a continuing basis.

Doing My Part

Now, with the devastation in Haiti, I am doing my part. First, I am working with my youth group to design and produce a collection of T-Shirts, which we hope to sell through a variety of mediums. All of the profits from those shirts will go directly to an organization called ERDO, which will then funnel the funds into the relief efforts in Haiti. I will post more about these shirts when details become available.

Second, I am auctioning off some design work. I am making 2 logo designs and 1 poster design available to the highest bidders! Instead of me keeping the money, though, I will be donating it. Again, it will probably be going through ERDO.

• 2 Logo Designs – $300 Value; Bidding starts at $200
• 1 Poster Design – $250 Value; Bidding starts at $100

If you are interested in purchasing these services, please place a bid, either by commenting below or by contacting me directly at matt@echoenduring.com. My goal is to raise between $700 and $1000, so if the design work goes even for its standard value, I will meet that goal. But, please feel free to bid even higher. Remember, every cent of this money will be donated to the relief effort in Haiti!

I will leave the bidding open until the February 1st. Also, all payment will be up front, since we want this money to be allocated to the relief efforts as quickly as possible!

Thank you for taking the time to read this post. If my design services can be of any use to you, I certainly hope that you will consider bidding.

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