I have been thinking, as unavoidably for me as for you, about Haiti.  In my dreams I hear the screams.  In my waking moments, my thoughts wander to the inconceivable pain and suffering.  On the evening news, I see the total annihilation of the countryside, and I wonder where the hope is.

The hope is in you and me and everyone else doing what we can, with what we have.  I have this website, and the attention of some number of people.  What can I do with that?  I'm thinking about it.

In the meantime, I have been sorting out charities that benefit Haiti.  There is a site called Charity Navigator that attempts to sort out the most legitimate charities -- those that give that highest percentage of their proceeds in the most intelligent ways -- from the merely well-intentioned (or worse.)  In their "Tips for Funding Haiti Earthquake Relief Efforts," comes a sound piece of advice:

Avoid Newly-Formed Charities and Give To An Established Charity That Has Worked In Haiti - Establishing a new charity is hard enough, but in a crisis, the odds of succeeding are slim to none. Think of it this way: would you entrust all your savings in a financial firm that just opened, doesn't even have stationery, and whose employees have no experience in investing money? Doubtful. Find a charity with a proven track record of success in providing disaster relief and one that has worked in Haiti.

The one that keeps coming up for me, in my research, is Hope for Haiti.  They have been concerned about the impoverished conditions in Haiti -- about clean water, health and nutrition, emergency relief, and education for Haiti's children -- for nearly 20 years prior to the recent earthquake.  They have boots on the ground, and they are getting doctors, medical supplies, food, water, and construction materials to hospital sites in Port-au-Prince as I write this.

Please check them out, and check out other sites, and do so with care and wisdom.  And give...