my first craft hope

i finally completed my first project for craft hope, which i've meant to do for a long time. craft hope is an awesome charity that coordinates crafted donations, giving specific instructions for an identified cause. project 11 was a birthing kit for Konbit Sante in Haiti. the "crafting" part was a stuffed animal (see my creepy bunnies below) and a tote bag, as well as an optional receiving blanket, which, due to my procrastinating i unfortunately did not complete. i made two birthing kits.

the unbelievable part of this is the non-crafting contents. look at the list that i had to pack:

• 1 bar of soap


• a 3'x4' piece of plastic sheeting


• a 24 inch piece of clean string


• an alcohol wipe


• hand sanitizer


• latex gloves

and with that, a baby is born. WHAT?! one in every TEN THOUSAND Haitians has access to a doctor. Konbit Sante trains birthing attendants (not midwives), and these kits are for them.

sometimes facts like this make us go "ohmygosh" and move on with our day. i think we quickly reference a movie or a photo or maybe a news report, but if you try to imagine yourself as the pregnant woman in poverty, even homeless, in the heat and dirt, about to give birth, on a plastic sheet, with woman armed with a razor blade and a piece of string, it makes you stop a little longer. really imagine it. you can't. you cannot imagine what that is like. or at least, many of us are lucky enough to not be able to.

given that, i am disappointed in myself for procrastinating and scrambling to make mediocre kits. i hope this will make me remember to re-prioritize and exercise patience when i have a dozen projects i want for me, me, me.