Friday, January 15, 2010

Haiti ... and disaster preparedness (seriously)

I know you can't prepare for a 7.0 earthquake hitting Haiti's capital. But as I was looking over the list of items being collected for a 2-container shipment to Haiti, I noticed the list looked familiar.

Bottled water
Canned food with pop tops
Peanut butter
Dry rice
Dry beans
Dishwashing liquid
Bedding (sheets, pillows, etc.)
Shovels and tools for rebuilding
Buckets
Antibacterial ointment
Band aids
Washcloths
Soap
Deodorant
individual packets of disinfectant wipes
Tooth brushes
Tooth paste
Band-aids
First aid ointment
Clean, used clothing in good condition (Must be sorted by type such as women's clothing, children's clothing, etc., and boxed and labeled).

Given that we have disasters fairly regularly, and that we have them often enough that the dry goods won't expire between one disaster and the next, why exactly don't we have care packages -- or a container of them -- ready to roll at all times?

Might be worth a look ...

1 comment:

LoieJ said...

I can't answer that adequately, but perhaps we do, but the magnitude of this is so large that more is needed, or perhaps we do have goods stored, but they are set aside for disasters within our borders. I think you ask a good question.