I have spent the evening trying to figure out how to discuss the recent earthquakes in Haiti with my children. We do not have a television. We have not been inundated with images and commentary. My children have no idea what happened, how much damage has been done, how many lives lost.

I started out my outline with a more formal plan. Some basic facts about Haiti, a map for them to color and use for reference, a slide show of Haiti in better days. . .yet with a definite reminder that this is the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere. I even planned to discuss a little history tie-in to show how even little countries like Haiti can have an effect on the world as we know it today. And then, there is the discussion on earthquakes, including the world’s deadliest.

But it all seems so distant and impersonal. I keep thinking back to what I remember of disasters and conflicts as a child. The Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, the bombing of Libya, the Sandinistas, Mt. St. Helens, the images of children, always naked, always black, always with flies congregating around their eyes with no effort to shoo them away. The rest of the news remained somewhat in the background. I was dimly aware, old enough to be anxious about the whole Cold War thing, but young enough that it didn’t effect me much beyond the one nuclear war drill I remember doing in elementary school. Sitting in the basement talking to my fellow fifth graders about what we would do if “The Bomb” was dropped, and whether it might just be better to die in the initial strike made somewhat of an impression on me that has lasted to this day.

But mostly, it stayed in the background, with only the pictures of the children really reaching my heart and forcing me to deal in some way with the human impact. Images are powerful and have a way of sticking with you in ways that words and text do not. Head knowledge can be forgotten. Heart knowledge can change how you view the world.

So I’m thinking maybe we’ll lay aside the more formal form of government and principal domestic product type of discussion and begin with a fly over of the devastation.

And then the more personal. That is where it it gets difficult. Watching buildings collapse and dust hovering over the city moments after the quake is one thing. But just how many bodies do I want my children to witness lying in the street with dazed survivors picking their way past them, seemingly unaware of the suffering and death around them?

Some are now estimating the death toll as high as half a million people. That would make this quake the second worst in recorded history. Thanks to blogging, I feel like I have connections there. Julie, a long time blog friend and author of Shanan Trail, recently adopted two beautiful little children from Haiti. Their home was an orphanage that was damaged, leaving the children sleeping outside. There is so much that is needed. Doctors without Borders is reporting missing staff and disappearing fuel, and a Salvation Army worker trained in disaster relief breaks down in a report, stating this is the worst thing he has ever seen.

We’ll see where the conversation leads, and how the children want to help. In the meantime, SFGate is assembling a list of organizations accepting donations (Hat Tip: Attracting All Good Things). With all the desire to help, however, will come the desire to scam. Seaside Tales has taken the time to assemble some denomination-specific relief organizations alongside some basic information to make sure your money is actually going to Haiti.

And since we’re going to be starting this very big conversation in the morning, sometime after most of you have read this entry, I am wondering how much you have shared with your children? How have you helped them interpret what they are seeing on television and hearing on the radio? How are they handling the numbers?

(Image from Wikipedia)

homeschool homeschooling Haiti earthquake