Monday, January 25, 2010

Peace by Piece



Well, you asked for it; and here it is. A peace bag.
Is it fitting or ironic? Horrible stories continue to pour out of Haiti, while simultaneously stories of goodness, unselfishness, and love occur alongside the misery.


A prairie winter storm on Saturday caused slippery highways in which a mom and dad of no less than twelve children died in a head on collision on highway 52, west of Steinbach.



A local 13 year old boy has just raised over one thousand dollars for Haiti.

Just a bake sale, a jar, and a heart full of sweet.


W5 showed a Dr on the streets of Haiti performing major surgery on a woman's mangled leg.

No anesthetic.





And in Darfur?
There is no peace.
Women continue to suffer from violent rape. Their children die of diseases from unclean drinking water. Their husbands and fathers are slaughtered.
Approximate dead is 400,000.
Displaced persons? Two million.

We all get tired of hearing about it. All these places, with all these people, and overwhelming injustice. The sense of responsibility is high. Every person has to decide for him or herself how to make justice in their own corner of reality. How to promote peace.
About the bag then:
Peace by Piece has two pockets beneath the flap. These are my favourites for keys and phone.
There are two more pockets inside the bag.
Measures roughly twelve inches deep and eleven inches across.

Bids begin at $25- Cdn, please.
Auction closes at 9:30 pm, cst, this evening, January 25, 2010.
I probably shouldn't tell you this.... But.... This week has a theme-- Peace!
(how crazy does that make you-- peace bag holder outers?!)
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***I also meant to mention....I've been troubled over the past number of weeks that I can no longer specify my donations directly to Darfur when giving funds to the World Food Programme. I've spent a little bit of time on the Internet trying to find out which organisations are still allowed in, but with limited success. The last donation I made was to MCC because they allowed me to specify where the funds go to. Does anyone have an opinion or advice, or some knowledge that would be helpful? There are other crises, for sure-- Haiti deserves our attention and funds. However. These other atrocities continue to exist and cannot be forgotten.

14 comments:

Dancin' Momma said...

Beautifully said. A week of peace bags? So very, very fitting, and I am super excited!

SOS Children's Villages does work in Darfur, http://www.soschildrensvillages.ca. Just enter it into the search field. They allow you to be extremely specific about where you want your funds to go, and are really great to work with.

Dancin' Momma said...

Oh and I bid $40

joyce said...

awesome- thanks. I'll check out that link asap.

Dancin' Momma said...

I also found this, the UN Refugee Agency
http://www.unhcr.org
They allow you to direct your donation directly to Darfur as well.

Chelsea said...

SOS is where I would say also....I bid $50

Dancin' Momma said...

Joyce, I sent you an email with more details on SOS Children's Villages.

$60

Karen said...

So hard to reconcile all the suffering with the joy I just felt opening your blog today.

But I guess it's okay to be happy about a week of peace bags, given where the money goes, right? [I need assurance.]

Love this bag. Are the rest of this week's bags going to be THIS cool? Such a gamble ....

$65.

Karen

Heather Plett said...

Oooo... If I didn't already have a peace bag, I'd be vying for this one!

At Canadian Foodgrains Bank, you can designate for Sudan, but not necessarily for Darfur. We have some ongoing projects in Darfur, like this one... http://www.foodgrainsbank.ca/project/938/sudan_west_darfur_nutrition_and_food_security_intervention_2117_21_22.aspx

Dancin' Momma said...

Ok, burned supper while looking at these pictures and going back and forth, should I wait and maybe I will like one of the ones later this week better... so unsure... then realized I have 6 birthdays and a baby shower next month... so... $66!

Karen said...

D Dae - I think you've got this one, but just in case the time on my laptop is wrong - $70.

Karen

Karen said...

Oh, I keep forgetting the time change - I think I was safe.

Karen

Dancin' Momma said...

Ack, I hope I don't regret this... its yours Karen. I so want it, but I will wait, and hope Joyce has some more Peacey Amazingness coming! :)

Chelsea said...

bahhhh i can't wait to see the next one!

Karen said...

Hey, thanks D Dae (and Joyce!).

I'm excited, but a little worried that that was only the Monday of a week of peace bags. I just gave up chocolate but am not sure the willpower can take any more temptation.

Karen