<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01 Transitional//EN"> <html> <head> <meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=ISO-8859-1"> </head> <body bgcolor="#ffffff" text="#000000"> By Carmina, one of many Haitian-American bloggers/entrepreneurs/educators/open sourcerers I met in NYC Saturday, willing to Take a Stand for Haiti: Laptops?!? My good  friend Mike asked puzzled. And  I understood his reaction because I had the same one at first. Haiti ’s children don’t need laptops; they need food, shelter, the basic stuff… I’m grateful that others have the skills and the opportunity to go to Haiti and help with those basic needs. I applaud their efforts and admire their courage: unfortunately, I don’t have the skills  or opportunity to do so myself. Almost a month has passed already…It’s time to build Haiti back! It’s not going to happen overnight and it’s not going to happen by itself. It’s starts with everyone doing a little bit, where they are, when they can. So I’m doing the little bit I can by actively supporting 2 organizations in which mission I believe in. What motivates and excites me about the <a href="http://www.laptop.org" target="_blank">One Laptop Per Child</a> / <a href="http://www.waveplace.org" target="_blank">Waveplace</a> project is its potential to impact the next generation of Haitians,  out of which future parents, citizens, mayors, senators and even presidents will come from. I see a potential to open the minds of our children to other realities, other worlds,  give them new dreams, broader horizons. So last Saturday at a <a href="http://www.crisiscommons.org" target="_blank">CrisisCamp</a> in NYC, when I heard Adam Holt and Allison Bland, exhausted from an early morning train ride from Boston to NY talked enthusiastically about this project I saw a chance to make a difference. No matter how small my part would be. Then I witnessed something awesome:  people were gathering around them,  coming together, rallying around this project. The ideas started flowing,  out of the box ideas. Suddenly, a simple translation project request became a movement to revolutionize the educational system  in Haiti. 2 days later, we have a coloring book project under way, translation parties in the works, blogs, websites, publishers/authors willing to giving us permission to make their children Creole books into e-books, an active and growing online community of a people exchanging ideas and ready to make a difference in anyway they can. Wow! If we can do that in 2 days, what can we do in 1 week, 1 month, 1 year! Yes, I realize that it’s a drop in the ocean, but if you could even indirectly impact the future of 1 child of Haiti, Would it not have been worth your while? You can help! Join our community at <a href="http://newhaitiproject.ning.com/group/onelaptopperchildwaveplaceproject" target="_blank">The New Haiti Project</a>. Donate 1 hour of your time to translate material from English to Creole Start here: <a href="http://translate.sugarlabs.org/" target="_blank">http://translate.sugarlabs.org/ht/</a> <div align="center">[ Originally published at: <a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://RaiseUpHaiti.com">http://RaiseUpHaiti.com</a> - Rebuilding Haiti by Educating its Future Leaders ] [ Carmina is now translation volunteer coordinator for: <a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://wiki.laptop.org/go/Haitian_Creole_Translation_for_Education">http://wiki.laptop.org/go/Haitian_Creole_Translation_for_Education</a> ] </div> </body> </html>