de-lurk for haiti

I haven’t been watching much of the news coverage of the devastation in Haiti—I just can’t do it. But this doesn’t mean that I’m not thinking about the people in Haiti. On the contrary, I can’t stop thinking about them. The image that comes to me again and again is that of a mother, walking down a broken street, searching for her child, desperately calling his name, knowing on some level that it’s too late, that he’s dead, but unable to stop calling for him. I imagine what this would be like—this hopelessness and not-knowing—and it breaks my heart over and over again.

For a long time now I have been planning to ask you lurkers to de-lurk for a charity, but I hadn’t decided on a cause. Now I have one.

(I don’t actually like the term “lurker” because it sounds so sinister, as if you are crouching outside my window, peering in. And of course there is nothing wrong with reading a blog anonymously. But as a blogger, it is nice to know who and where my readers are. It’s nice to put names to the hits on my StatCounter.)

So join me in Mother Words’ first de-lurking for charity. For every comment left by a reader who has never commented here before, I will donate one dollar to Partners in Health. You must post your comment by Friday, January 22nd. If you are willing, please also state your location.

Money is tight for us now—still—but I have to do something to help the people in Haiti. You can help me.