“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times”, said Charles Dickens in A Tale of Two Cities. I am reminded of that as I view Hurricane Harvey with the worst of nature and the best of human nature.
Facebook and the news are filled with stories of overwhelming help pouring in to the Houston area, including 227,000 meals packed by District 5810 volunteers last Saturday. Other work days will be announced in coming months and as I am notified, I will pass those along.
While at the youth ranch, we received a lot of clothing, much of it inappropriate for teens. It created extra work for us and volunteers and while we appreciated the intent, the funds spent to mail those clothes would have been more helpful. CBS ran an excellent piece this weekend on misguided relief efforts and I encourage you to watch it at:
Bearing that in mind, I believe the best way for us to help is to answer specific needs. For now, another request for diapers, wipes and baby formula came through and we will continue that as our Project of the Month.
Recovery from the effects of Harvey will be a marathon effort. Unfortunately, experience has shown that within a few weeks attention will turn to the next disaster, and those in Houston will be carrying on with the difficult task of re-building their lives. Through Rotary we will stay in touch with the area and be there to help for the long haul.