Looking for tents to send to Haiti

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Chris McNamara

SuperTopo staff member
Topic Author's Original Post - Feb 2, 2010 - 02:25pm PT
I just got this email from a friend who runs a non-profit that is looking for tents to bring to Haiti to help with the relief effort. If you have any old tents that you have not used in years and are not likely to use, they have a much needed home.


Here is the email:


So NRI www.newrealityinternational.org is going back to Haiti this Feb. with medical teams (we were there this past November) and we will also be going back in April. The group we work with in Haiti is called Haitian Christian Mission www.hcmsupport.org and they have informed us of the great need for tents right now. I know you are very connected to the outdoor community and was wondering if you may be able to help us gather some to take with us.

They would need to be lightweight and easy to set up/ take down and with no major damage. 5 person tents are ideal smaller is okay.

Send tents to:

NRI
Attn: Laila Mickelwait
1420 Roosevelt Ave. Suite 7
Mount Vernon WA 98273
Chris McNamara

SuperTopo staff member
Topic Author's Reply - Feb 2, 2010 - 03:08pm PT
Here are the guidelines for the tents:

tent size: (5 person tent is the ideal. Smaller is okay)
tents must be in good condition (no missing pieces, holes, ect.)
lightweight is best (there is no particular weight limit)
tents need to be sent in their original sleeve or something comparable to make transporting them easier
if the sender includes a note with their name and address as well as the used value of the tent NRI can send them a receipt (donations are tax-deductible)

Our first team leaves Feb 27
We are also leaving again with another medical team on April 9 and will be taking trips monthly thereafter.

The sooner we can collect the tents the better seeing as the rains are coming very soon. Our goal is to collect 1000 tents. I am contacting REI as well as other companies to see if they may be able to help as well.
bluering

Trad climber
Santa Clara, Ca.
Feb 2, 2010 - 08:40pm PT
I may be able to help...be advised.

EDIT: I have a complete 3-man 3-season Coleman tent.
bluering

Trad climber
Santa Clara, Ca.
Feb 2, 2010 - 08:55pm PT
Chris, maybe a direct link/address to send the gear to is better. I'll mail it, they can figure out how to use it.

I find it regrettable that these as#@&%es lay stipulations on quality of gear.

You want rain pro or not? You should accept everything and take it gladly. Work it out from there.

I know it's not your rules. People need gear fast! Just send the sh#t as long it's impermeable to rain!!!!!
tooth

Trad climber
The Best Place On Earth
Feb 2, 2010 - 11:20pm PT
Bump!
enjoimx

Big Wall climber
SLO Cal
Feb 2, 2010 - 11:26pm PT
"I find it regrettable that these as#@&%es lay stipulations on quality of gear"

You do realize that without stipulations, people would send them TRASH, just to get rid of it. I worked briefly at a thrift store, and you wouldnt believe the crap we got, most of which was totally unusable. Now a thrift store is fine, we could get rid of it, we had a big dumpster, but this RELIEF effort, who is donating their time and volunteers, probably has better things to do than sort through a bunch of trash.

If you want to give gear to a charity, the decent thing to do is give usable, decent quality gear that volunteers dont have to repair before sending to HAITI.
happiegrrrl

Trad climber
New York, NY
Feb 2, 2010 - 11:34pm PT
bump for an important cause
neebee

Social climber
calif/texas
Feb 3, 2010 - 02:53am PT
hey there say, ...just a bump....
:)
happiegrrrl

Trad climber
New York, NY
Feb 3, 2010 - 03:20pm PT
Bumpy road for those people in Haiti.

Here's an idea - What about doing a Supertopo Pool of Funds and buying a couple tents to send over? Perhaps one of us Supertopians owns a gear shop and they could be the recipient of funds/take care of shipping the tent(s) to the address above?

Just a though - perhaps some discussion can ensue?
Mighty Hiker

climber
Vancouver, B.C.
Feb 3, 2010 - 06:58pm PT
http://www.youtube.com:80/watch?v=ew9cEATPzDE

Another way to fundraise for good causes.

Bump.
seankenny

Trad climber
London, England
Feb 5, 2010 - 06:53pm PT
Actually, please DON'T send tents. Aid groups on the ground know what's needed, and they're experts at buying and distributing it in difficult situations. If you want to help - send money.

This writer covers the problem very well:

http://bloodandmilk.org/?p=1467&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+BloodAndMilk+%28Blood+and+Milk%29

>> waits for brickbats
tooth

Trad climber
The Best Place On Earth
Feb 6, 2010 - 06:24pm PT
Actually, SEND tents.

I'm with Laila and her aid group on the ground, and we know what we want, will use it again this month.

We just got 23 huge boxes of supplies from fellow physicians/dentists here in BC/WA to take down next week. Thanks guys!




(I read the article, thanks for posting up one armchair theorist's views from your armchair. Read my TR from our recent pre-earthquake trip if you want, but the article doesn't really apply here - theoretical ideas are good and all, but continuing on-the-ground action works even better)


tooth

Trad climber
The Best Place On Earth
Feb 6, 2010 - 09:20pm PT
Some friends of mine moved to a hospital in Haiti last year. Here are a couple blogs that follow what has been happening in their neighborhood this week...

http://lluinhaiti.blogspot.com/

http://parkridgeinhaiti.blogspot.com/
Mattq331

Mountain climber
Superior/Boulder/UK
Feb 6, 2010 - 10:28pm PT

UPDATED: I admit that the following comments are wrong, and based on a lack of understanding of the specific issues in Haiti. After subsequent research, I discovered that there is a genuine need for these tents.

This all strikes me, quite frankly, as pretty dumb.

I cannot for the life of me see how a myriad of different tents, in varying degrees of completeness, is better than just money.
I know how hard it can be to work out one of my own tents when I haven't used it for months or years. Why anyone would want a variety of used tents, vs. money to buy a standard variety of tent just amazes me.

Some people in Denver were collecting tents on a street corner soon after the disaster - I wonder how many of those tents were just junk, and even those which could be used are now littering the floor of a well-meaning, but misguided individual's garage.

Send money, screw tents, IMHO.
happiegrrrl

Trad climber
New York, NY
Feb 6, 2010 - 10:42pm PT
The people have NOTHING for shelter. And they need shelter. I'm sure they can find ways to get the damned tents set up even if they aren't out-of-the-box perfect.

Send money for SURE! Especially if you feel that is the best way to help. But don't try to undermine the efforts of people (who actually do have experience in disaster relief) working to aid these people.

tooth

Trad climber
The Best Place On Earth
Feb 7, 2010 - 02:44am PT
Mattq31

Join me in Haiti please. Then do what you can with a well-organized group that does this sort of thing full-time and things won't 'seem' or 'appear' anymore. You will KNOW how you can be of service.
seankenny

Trad climber
London, England
Feb 9, 2010 - 04:42pm PT
I'm sure you guys are doing some great work out there, but the argument for sending money not equipment comes from specialists in delivering programmes on the ground. The link I posted was not to an "armchair theorist" but from an aid specialist who writes:
"I’ve been in charge of programs in East Africa, Central Asia, and the Middle East... The biggest portfolio I ever had was about fifty million dollars, and the most fun I ever had was running a country program in Turkmenistan."

Let's say you send three tents in varying states of (dis)repair. How do you decide who gets the shitty one? Might not you be exacerbating social tensions and divisions that were there long before you arrived and will simmer long after you've left? Aid agencies - and here I must declare an interest, as I work for one - have often worked in these areas for many years and know the place well.

saa

climber
not much of a
Feb 10, 2010 - 03:28pm PT
Answer to:

Feb 6, 2010 - 07:28pm PT
This all strikes me, quite frankly, as pretty dumb.

I cannot for the life of me see how a myriad of different tents, in varying degrees of completeness, is better than just money.
I know how hard it can be to work out one of my own tents when I haven't used it for months or years. Why anyone would want a variety of used tents, vs. money to buy a standard variety of tent just amazes me.

Some people in Denver were collecting tents on a street corner soon after the disaster - I wonder how many of those tents were just junk, and even those which could be used are now littering the floor of a well-meaning, but misguided individual's garage.

Send money, screw tents, IMHO.


_
Gosh Dude: just order a tent online and have it delivered to address at top of this link. They get a tent, you give $$. Simple enough? Or help some other way you like better. Or don't help and don't whine.

happiegrrrl

Trad climber
New York, NY
Feb 10, 2010 - 04:45pm PT
I sent 2 tents directly from http://www.campmor.com. They have a LOT of styles to choose from, in various price ranges. I went for a simple design that looked easy to figure out the set up, and also 5-person.

If a person has qualms about a project, then they should pass. There are opportunities to help others ev-er-ee-where. So many that you really DO have to say no to some. Unless you are really pretty rich, and then the big cats will come asking anyway, so no matter - you're still in the same boat!

Give what you can, where you can, and without strings attached(though you should remember to include cord to tie down any tents you send to the Op's project, so the wind doesn't blow them away....)
Mattq331

Mountain climber
Superior/Boulder/UK
Feb 10, 2010 - 07:19pm PT
Mea culpa - I was wrong. Original post changed to note this.
Thanks.

Mattq331
NewReality

Social climber
Bow
Mar 10, 2010 - 12:18am PT
happiegrrrl thank you for your donation. We received both tents and they are now the new homes of several very happy Haitian earthquake survivors. Here is a photo of one of the families who received your tents. This woman has a husband and three children. The boy in the photo is her son. They lost their home in the earthquake and have been sleeping under a sheet held up by sticks until now.[photoid=148838]

Thanks for the support.

Laila
New Reality International
lmickelwait@newrealityinternational.org
http://www.newrealityinternational.org

happiegrrrl

Trad climber
New York, NY
Mar 10, 2010 - 12:36am PT
I'm so happy that I could help in that little way.

You are really going to think this is whacky, but several days ago, I got a vibe, and (I admit am prone to fantasy; in fact, extremely prone to it) but when I stopped to listen to the vibe, I imagined a woman giving a prayer of thanks for the tent. It was quite an intense moment, actually.

Who knows if it was just my imagination, but it's certainly not hard TO imagine that these poor people are extremely grateful for shelter in this desperate time.

Thank you, too, for the work you are doing.
NewReality

Social climber
Bow
Mar 20, 2010 - 02:45am PT
Not strange at all....very cool actually. This woman was so extremely happy to have received this tent. I was in touch with her son (his name is Ribinson) and he told me they now have 6 people sleeping in it every night. This was an answer to prayer for them.

Studly

Trad climber
WA
Mar 20, 2010 - 02:56am PT
Much good karma going your way Happie for a really good turn. Nice one!
Jack Burns

climber
Mar 20, 2010 - 11:30am PT
Dammit, I got two tents with busted zippers. Plus one's ripped. Oh well.

I gotta say that I understand all the skepticism regarding aid requests for Haiti. It's appalling that people are using this tragedy as an opportunity to steal from good hearted people. These lowlifes are in the minority, of course, but it has been happening enough to warrant discretion. Wyclef, I'm lookin' at you, homeslice.

Kudos to "tooth" all the folks who are over there helping out.
bluering

Trad climber
Santa Clara, Ca.
Mar 20, 2010 - 12:53pm PT
Is it too late to send a tent? I held off because of some comments earlier.

I should've gone with my instinct. I can send a used one in good condition on Monday.
happiegrrrl

Trad climber
New York, NY
Mar 20, 2010 - 05:54pm PT
Bluering - maybe email the person and see what to do. Their contact info is in the post upthread, but here it is, easy to see:

Laila
New Reality International
lmickelwait@newrealityinternational.org
http://www.newrealityinternational.org

I clicked the website and it does still have info about the tents. The website is very funky to load on my computer, but I don't know if it is my computer that is the problem, or the website is cumbersome for some reason.


I am reading the Stones Into Schools book now(Greg Mortenson) and it tells of how a full year after the cataclysmic earthquake of 2005 in Pakistan, many people were still without decent shelter. No doubt the people of Haiti are still very much in need of assistance for even the most basic things.





tooth

Trad climber
The Best Place On Earth
Mar 21, 2010 - 12:31am PT
Yes, please send the tents to Laila. She is heading back with teams of surgeons at least three more times in the coming weeks, and the rainy weather will only get worse as spring arrives.

We had the pleasure of having Laila and her husband stay at our place this weekend and she showed us the pictures of what Haiti was like last week. Everyone living under sheets, no-one dares sleep in their homes anymore because of aftershocks which scare them to death. A doctor I had worked with lost sight in one eye as her house crumbled and crushed half her face. Another interpreter lost his son, and the list goes on...

They will never get everything they need, AA has limited the number of bags we can take down on a flight, but we can ship stuff to Haiti for $5/lb, so if anyone knows of a cheaper way to bring in medical supplies, etc. it would be greatly appreciated, thanks!

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