Dig Deep

First things first...

Here's the podium photo I was hoping somebody snapped:

Photo Cred: Brent Lester

The moment right after I humped Ross's leg like a randy monkey and right before he stole my wallet.

Today is The Pie and I's wedding anniversary, our fifteenth to be precise. She has asked me for one thing and one thing only. She wanted me to relinquish my blog for the day from the powers of marketing evil and use it to do some good in the world. Since I wasn't sure what that meant I turned the keyboard over to her. Please take the time to read what The Pie has to say and see what you can do to make a difference in a few people's lives. She's not as long winded as I am and has a much better use of the English language, so she managed to be quite brief and to the point.

My name is Kim Dillen AKA The Pie. In March 2009, I had the honor of serving the Haitian people in their home country for 2 weeks at God's Littlest Angels Orphanage. I have loved their babies as my own and made life long friends. One of the most amazing people I met while in Haiti was a 26 year old man named James Dindin. He was my driver to/ from the airport and between the Baby House and Toddler House in the evenings. Needless to say, we had many interesting conversations during those long drives and I was very inspired to hear about James' past.

James is a very energetic and positive person who has never let any of the challenging events in his short life hold him back. He was raised in an orphanage from the age of 10 months due to financial circumstances in which his mother was unable to care for him. When he turned 16, he "aged out" of the orphanage. He had no where to go and fortunately, ended up at GLA Orphanage where they hired him as a driver. James then located his mother and his 3 siblings and began supporting them on his meager salary. He also saved for over ten years to attend Port-Au-Prince University and had just left classes on the day of the earthquake...many of his fellow students still in classes in the buildings did not survive.

By some miracle, on January 12th, 2010, James and his family's lives were spared however, they lost everything that they own. They now live in a tent, on the ground. With the rainy season approaching Haiti soon, it will be a tent in the mud.

One of my fellow volunteers at GLA Orphanage Rhyan Buettner, has a blog about her experiences in Haiti and she has started a project to try to raise funds to rebuild the Dindin family home. Please consider helping this incredible young man and his family. As the news stories from Haiti fade in the distance and we continue on in our regular day-to-day existence, this is a real person with an actual name and photos that you can see. If you help James overcome yet another obstacle in his life, I would be grateful beyond measure.
There is a link on Rhyan's blog, in the left hand margin that says "donate" and from there, you will be taken to Paypal. Thanks for reading this and for considering giving even a small amount...as it all makes a difference.

It's me again, Dick. I beat The Pie hands down when it comes to the blogging world and added the link to the secure Paypal donation site so you don't have to go looking for it. Thanks for your help.


Back to bike stuff tomorrow.