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Messages 1 - 28 of total 28 in this topic |
bluering
Trad climber
Santa Clara, Ca.
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I may be able to help...be advised.
EDIT: I have a complete 3-man 3-season Coleman tent.
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bluering
Trad climber
Santa Clara, Ca.
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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!!!!!
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tooth
Trad climber
The Best Place On Earth
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Bump!
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enjoimx
Big Wall climber
SLO Cal
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"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.
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happiegrrrl
Trad climber
New York, NY
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bump for an important cause
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neebee
Social climber
calif/texas
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hey there say, ...just a bump....
:)
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happiegrrrl
Trad climber
New York, NY
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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?
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tooth
Trad climber
The Best Place On Earth
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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)
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Mattq331
Mountain climber
Superior/Boulder/UK
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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.
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happiegrrrl
Trad climber
New York, NY
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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.
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tooth
Trad climber
The Best Place On Earth
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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.
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seankenny
Trad climber
London, England
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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.
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saa
climber
not much of a
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Feb 10, 2010 - 03:28pm PT
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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.
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happiegrrrl
Trad climber
New York, NY
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Feb 10, 2010 - 04:45pm PT
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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....)
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Mattq331
Mountain climber
Superior/Boulder/UK
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Feb 10, 2010 - 07:19pm PT
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Mea culpa - I was wrong. Original post changed to note this.
Thanks.
Mattq331
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NewReality
Social climber
Bow
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Mar 10, 2010 - 12:18am PT
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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
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happiegrrrl
Trad climber
New York, NY
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Mar 10, 2010 - 12:36am PT
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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.
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NewReality
Social climber
Bow
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Mar 20, 2010 - 02:45am PT
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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.
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Studly
Trad climber
WA
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Mar 20, 2010 - 02:56am PT
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Much good karma going your way Happie for a really good turn. Nice one!
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Jack Burns
climber
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Mar 20, 2010 - 11:30am PT
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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.
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bluering
Trad climber
Santa Clara, Ca.
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Mar 20, 2010 - 12:53pm PT
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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.
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happiegrrrl
Trad climber
New York, NY
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Mar 20, 2010 - 05:54pm PT
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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.
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tooth
Trad climber
The Best Place On Earth
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Mar 21, 2010 - 12:31am PT
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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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