Please read the full article here.

On March 20, 2010, ten individuals landed in Port-au-Prince to serve the wonderful people of Cite Soleil and the surrounding areas, suburbs of Port au Prince. Four doctors were on this team – Dr. Robert Majors, Dr. Lee Blackburn, Dr. Martin van Cleeff, and Dr. Richard Michal. Two nurses were involved – Ms. Gloria Peterson who works with Dr. van Cleeff and Ms. Betty Michal who is the wife of Dr. Michal. Ms. Brittany Montgomery, a second year medical school student from Iowa and Mr. Harris Wexler, a newly accepted medical school student for next year also worked with the team. Philip Dail and Randy Wiersma were team leaders.

Back row, left to right: Randy Wiersma, Martin van Cleeff, Lee Blackburn and Bob Majors. .Second row, left to right: Pastor Leon Dorleans, Betty Michal, Richard Michal, Britanny Montgomery, Philip Dail and Harris Wexler. Front: Gloria Peterson

Pastor Leon Dorleans of Haiti Outreach Ministries has an amazing presence in Port-au-Prince. He’s built 4 community centers, yet can be easily described as a powerful and yet humble man, loving and yet firm, visionary and yet completely aware of each day’s needs.

The community centers are located in Blanchard, Cite Soleil, Repatriate, and Ibo Beach. Plans are in place for a fifth center at Bon Repose. At this point, the centers at Blanchard and Cite Soleil are operational. Blanchard was virtually undamaged in the earthquake whereas Cite Soleil and Repatriate sustained a lot of damage. The church at Repatriate was totally destroyed. These areas are classified as the poorest slums in the Western Hemisphere, but poverty is not in the hearts and spirits of the people. The living conditions are difficult, but the people are amazing, warm, friendly, determined and some of the most optimistic people you will find.

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Our accommodations were better than we expected. We were fortunate to have excellent showers and bathroom facilities just outside our sleeping areas. The food was remarkable. Cooked over open flame, we were treated to some of the best grilled fare, fresh vegetables, rice, beans and more. Having eaten the local cuisine of many countries, this is as good as it gets.

We held clinic at Cite Soleil. The original clinic had sustained serious damage requiring us to set up operations outside. During our 4 days there, we documented serving 680 patients not including returns for follow up. We completed a patient ‘chart’ on each individual and saw people dealing with post-disaster trauma such as depression, sleep problems and a host of common health issues.

The range of patient conditions was extensive. Seriously ill individuals were sent directly to local hospitals. We suspected typhoid in one young man. A small baby with severe pneumonia was listless. Others came with less life threatening conditions, but nonetheless serious needs. There are estimated to be fewer than 700 physicians in Haiti, a ratio of 1 physician for every 15,000 citizens compared to 1 physician per 650 Americans. We provided everything free including all medications.

Your donations made this possible. Already plans are being made for a dental team to go as well as the return of a medical team at some point. We will keep you posted.

During the festivities, PEC is hosting a sneak preview of Redress Raleigh 2010.

We need models for the Redress Raleigh Sneak Peek happening this Saturday, April 17th from 2:30 – 2:45pm!!

We are offering the Planet Earth Celebration audience a ‘preview’ of some of the designers who will be featured in that night’s Redress show – a very simple showoff of our designers’ clothing concepts.

This would be a quick and easy way to wear awesome clothes and help out great causes. If you’re interested, please email greenfashionshow@gmail.com for more information!

Thank you!
Beth, Jamie, and Mor
Redress Raleigh 2010 Co-producers

Yesterday’s edition of New Raleigh News Blog ran a full story on the event including bios of the designers, information on the venue and a link to photos from last year’s event on local online magazine, Goodnight, Raleigh.

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Earlier this month, NBC Triad affiliate, WNCN NBC17, broadcast a studio interview on their morning local news show, My Carolina Today. Show host Page Crawford interviewed Beth Stewart of Triangle Emerging Green Builders and co-founder of Redress Raleigh.

The broadcast interview can be seen below.

Tickets for Redress Raleigh 2010 are going fast. We have sold out of seats and have fewer than 15 standing room tickets remaining!

This show is going to be blow people’s minds! We have a diverse group of designers from all around North Carolina participating. There are fantastic collections from ready-to-wear fashion to high-end and fantasy garments. Several collections will be available for sale after the show.

So if you haven’t purchased your tickets yet, get them now! $8 for standing room and available online. Tickets bought online will available for pick up at the door on event day, April 17th.

UPDATE! RR2010 has officially SOLD OUT!

Redress Raleigh 2010 will be held on Saturday, April 17, 2010 from 7PM until 9PM at the Flander’s Art Gallery, 302 South West Street, Raleigh, North Carolina 27603.

Come join us as 15 local designers present their lines and raise the limits of eco-design as well as funds for extraordinary causes.

Their mission is to empower female entrepreneurs to build strong businesses, strengthen family ties, and cultivate sustainable communities. Their idea, RoseLeaf, is a social network and banking initiative to foster mentorship, encourage collaboration and develop a variety of tools to address the particular concerns of female leaders. Both oppressed women in need of empowerment and strong women who inspire will benefit from Citizen Act.

The following is a message from Contribution Globale:

“Our team, Contribution Globale, is taking part in an international business competition know as Citizen Act. We are competing for the opportunity to make our vision of the socially conscious bank of the future a reality. Hosted by Société Générale, a banking network headquartered in Paris, France, whose focus is on promoting Corporate Social Responsibility, this Wiki-Blog is designed to demonstrate our idea, known as RoseLeaf, and receive feedback from people like you world-wide. We encourage you to comment, suggest ideas, and ask questions, so that we may work together to build the bank of tomorrow!”

“The Design Revolution Road Show is a traveling exhibition and lecture series bringing “product design that empowers” to 35 high schools and university design programs across the nation in the Spring of 2010. AProject H Design initiative, the road show will feature an Airstream trailer exhibition of 40 humanitarian design solutions that have been showcased in the book Design Revolution: 100 Products that Empower People.

The programming will bring the evidence of and tools for design for social impact to the doorsteps of students, with the ultimate goal of enabling and empowering the next generation of creative problem-solvers to apply their skills to the world’s most pressing problems and improve life on a global scale.”

This is a great way to learn how design can make a difference in a life and eventually change the way our world evolves.

We are still receiving support from our customers for the Haiti outreach.  We still have a definite need for vitamins, especially chewable forms, pain medications such as Tylenol or Ibuprofen (not aspirin), skin rash ointments especially those with hydro-cortisone, and benadryl tablets. Please remember that donations are eligible for tax credit through Together We Can, Inc.  All donations for Haiti received by the end of February can still be used on your 2009 tax returns.

We need these by March 15 since the medical team that Philip is taking to Haiti is leaving March 20.  This team has already purchased all medications that are not over-the-counter and so this help would be great!  Just drop this by the store.

MERCI in Goldsboro is still shipping items and will be for a long time.  You can see their list of items here.  MERCI You can continue to bring these items to Beleza.

Monday morning Philip met with a woman who had just returned from three weeks of helping set up temporary clinics in Haiti.  She told him about a woman who walked in with her lower arm wrapped in dirty strips of cloth.  When asked about her arm, she said it hurt a little.  When the medical personnel looked at her arm, they saw mostly exposed bone and not much else. She had received no medical attention since the earthquake.  They sent her for an amputation.  How this woman is alive is hard to understand.  This just points to what we all know.  There will be need for caring support in this country for a long time.

Thank you for all your support.
Sara and Philip

Haiti unloading water