Hello blogosphere! Here is the text of the letter I sent to my friends and extended family about our upcoming trip. If you like it, please copy it and forward it on to anyone else you think might be interested. xxoo Rachel

Dear Friends,

On April 10, 2010 – my 40^th birthday, I’m flying with a group of medical professionals to help in Haiti. Since 40 is the new 20, I’m really excited to begin my adulthood with an experience that exemplifies my sincere aspiration to do good work in the world. I’ll be going with other “Medical Moms” (we are all working moms with young kids). We will be staying and working out of a medical complex called “Quisqueya”, which has been active since the January 12 earthquake in organizing and supplying medical teams to work in the remaining hospitals and impromptu medical clinics that have been set up in Port au Prince and outlying areas. For more information, check out http://qcsrelief.quisqueya.org/

Something I’ve been thinking a lot about lately is the rise in technology and the possibility of bettering the world. I frankly don’t think that anyone is better off from most of the programming on the television or internet, and I could care less what new games gadget or high-def modality is in the works. However, I think there is a great potential for world improvement because of the unprecedented access to world news. 10,000 years ago, most humans rarely saw anyone outside their local tribe, and events beyond this group were unknowable. 1,000 years ago, this was extended to the city-state. 100 years ago to a person’s country. In the last 10 years, we have gained the ability to witness events across the world, and care about people in countries continents away. We can send them money and aid, and watch their recovery (until our attention is diverted elsewhere). Sometimes this is very depressing, as more and more information about human suffering is accessible. But I think of the possibilities. If we know about problems, we can care. If enough people care, then a proportion will act. If enough people act, problems can be solved. Diseases can be cured, hunger and drought can be alleviated, injustices can be corrected.

So, I’m going to Haiti to put my ideas into practice and hopefully do some good. Because of technology, I can get there in about 7 hours and phone, e-mail and blog from there. I know that this is going to be a mind-blowing experience: seeing poverty, disease and the ascendancy of the human spirit first hand. I hope I can make a small dent in the suffering and maybe make somebody smile and hope in their turn. I hope to meet with other professionals in public health and crisis care and learn from their experience. I hope that Haiti reinforces my drive and optimism, and I hope that my experience encourages you to do something that you have been only dreaming of until now.

This is a charitable mission, so if you would like to support us, please check out our blog at http://pamomsinhaiti.blogspot.com/. Donations will be used to help get our team to Haiti, buy and bring medical supplies to the Quisqueya complex, and anything extra will go directly to the Quisqueya Relief Fund. Team members will be blogging about our thoughts and experiences before and during the trip.

Thanks so much for your interest and your friendship! Good luck with all your pursuits!

Love, Rachel