Burners without Borders -- another wish list for Haiti

A few weeks ago, I searched the word "Haiti" on craigslist. I found a carpenter here in Santa Cruz who said he was looking for work for a few weeks to get money together for his upcoming trip to Haiti. He was going with an organization called Burners Without Borders. It sounds like it's Burning Man meets Doctors Without Borders. He said he was taking his tools with him and was hoping to help with the reconstruction efforts.

I wrote to him and said I could give him some small jobs, since my regular guy is in Mexico right now (Daniel, for people who know me). I was also curious to know more about him and this organization. I heard back from him once, but that was it. Then I got busy and forgot about him.

Now I'm looking at photos of cracks in Andre's family's house that Andre sent me with my iPhone --thanks to AT&T for the great international plan they came up with to help the relief effort in Haiti. I take back all the bad things I've said about AT&T in the past. From these photos, I would definitely agree with Andre and Dr. Tony Hoffman that the house should be repairable. With fewer and smaller aftershocks, little by little, the family is cooking inside, using the bathroom, getting a change of clothes, and plugging in their cell phones to recharge when the random electrical service comes on. By the way, even before the earthquake most families in Port-au-Prince only got electricity a couple of hours ago, usually late at night when everyone was asleep.

I bring up Burners Without Borders also because I was interested in their list of needed supplies:

SEEDS: apricot, cabbage, tomato, potato, carrots, red and white beans, yams, corn, pistachio, papaya, cauliflower, squash, watermelon, purple onion, sweet peas, garlic, beans/red and white, peppers and spicy peppers.

SUPPLIES: Crutches, Naproxin, Immodium/ anti diarrhea meds, Baby formula,Bottles, Nipples, Food/A packs, IV Needle Inserts, Slings (all sizes), Pedialyte Powder, Adult Crutches, Canes, New Socks for Amputees, Cast Shoes (Left and Right), Saline forwards, Gloves, Anti-fungal ointment, Antibiotic ointment, Sulfa, Antibiotics,

OVER the COUNTER MEDICINE - Tylenol (adult and peds), Motrin (adult and peds), Tussin, Dressings, DUST MASKS (the concrete dust here is VERY bad)

I didn't know if you could bring seeds on a plane internationally. I'll have to check about that because if we succeed in relocating his family to the mountain village they would certainly be able to grow some food. I have a friend who works in the garden center at Pro-Build and I will give her this seed list. Andre did take some of these supplies and over-the-counter medicines last time. I'm waiting to hear back from him regarding what else they need or what they need more of.