The horrible earthquake that hit Christchurch today at 12:51 pm brought back a number of memories. First, the terror I experienced at 4:31 am on 1.17.94 when the Northridge quake rocked our world, the subsequent feeling of isolation we all experienced being cut-off without phone service for days, and dealing with the aftermath.
Next is one I have of this morning while helping Vince's class create a banner for Purple Cake Day, precious little Alyahna clung to my dress and smiled. Alyahna is a joyful, gregarious, always happy... miracle. Last January she spent 22 hours under rubble in the aftermath of the earthquake in Haiti, tragically her 2 sisters and father perished. Alyahna and her mother, Emily, are from Nelson, New Zealand. I have never experienced such an overwhelming sense of community as I have in the past month as EVERYONE in town rallies around Emily's wonderful cause, Purple Cake Day.
Emily established the Kenbe La Foundation (‘Kenbe La’ means “Never Give Up” in Haitian Creole), a registered charitable trust, to provide educational opportunities for children in need. The Foundation has since established Purple Cake Day as a specific day to celebrate and connect children from around the world. Funds raised by the Foundation in 2010 and 2011, including those raised by Purple Cake Day, are going towards the Foundation’s current project of building a school in Leogane Province, Haiti, one of the regions most severely affected by the earthquake.
This is a wonderful and timely cause that I invite all of you to explore and contribute to. Both of Alyahna's sisters, Kofie-Jade (5) and Zenzie (3), attended Nelson Montessori where Vince is now a student. Purple Cake Day
is an unspeakably meaningful purpose and event for this school and this community.
www.purplecakeday.org
www.kenbelafoundation.org
Next is one I have of this morning while helping Vince's class create a banner for Purple Cake Day, precious little Alyahna clung to my dress and smiled. Alyahna is a joyful, gregarious, always happy... miracle. Last January she spent 22 hours under rubble in the aftermath of the earthquake in Haiti, tragically her 2 sisters and father perished. Alyahna and her mother, Emily, are from Nelson, New Zealand. I have never experienced such an overwhelming sense of community as I have in the past month as EVERYONE in town rallies around Emily's wonderful cause, Purple Cake Day.
Emily established the Kenbe La Foundation (‘Kenbe La’ means “Never Give Up” in Haitian Creole), a registered charitable trust, to provide educational opportunities for children in need. The Foundation has since established Purple Cake Day as a specific day to celebrate and connect children from around the world. Funds raised by the Foundation in 2010 and 2011, including those raised by Purple Cake Day, are going towards the Foundation’s current project of building a school in Leogane Province, Haiti, one of the regions most severely affected by the earthquake.
This is a wonderful and timely cause that I invite all of you to explore and contribute to. Both of Alyahna's sisters, Kofie-Jade (5) and Zenzie (3), attended Nelson Montessori where Vince is now a student. Purple Cake Day
is an unspeakably meaningful purpose and event for this school and this community.
www.purplecakeday.org
www.kenbelafoundation.org