Yesterday afternoon Vodou Aid (http://vodouaid.org) sent another $1200
to Haiti for hurricane relief. Western Union charged us $132, making
the total disbursement $1332. A few dollars remain in the Vodou Aid
account, but not enough to make another $100 and send it.

The money will be used to buy one pig for a maximum of $300 US, which
will be a medium-sized castrated male, the usual food pig. We will
also buy one sack of beans, and the remainder will buy rice.

You know, the first Vodou Aid appeal for food, lo these many years
ago, netted $1800. And at that time, a sack of rice was less than
$100 Haitian, so we were able to buy a truckload, and cases of milk,
and gallons and gallons of oil, and cases of spaghetti and cases of
tomato paste and sacks of onions, it was really something!

Now, with rice at roughly $350 a twenty-five pound sack, $1000 US buys
about twenty sacks, that's 500 pounds of rice. It would buy more here
in the USA! The poorest of the world's poor pay the highest price.

Anyway, today in the Roots Without End Society peristyle in Jacmel, in
the Aviation neighborhood right across from the airfield, behind the
Adventist bakery on the property of Le Rendez-Vous Guest house, a pig
will be killed and cooked, rice and beans will be cooked. There will
be more cooking tomorrow as well, I hope. And food will be
distributed for folks to take home once they've filled their tummies
with a nice hot cooked meal.

I was able to contact Loulou Prince this morning, and he is
administering our little distribution, he has a motorcycle and he can
get to the animal market and the rice wholesaler and to the homes of
our members and associates. Of course once we start to cook everyone
will come from all around anyhow.

So I thank every one of you who contributed, because Loulou Prince is
already blessing your hands that sent the money, and the other members
and friends will wake up to the news that they are going to eat very
well today and tomorrow and even for some days to come they will have
rice and beans at least. And so they will be blessing you too.

I bow very low before you, I kiss the ground before you, I thank you
with my whole heart and I ask that God and Guinea remember and reward
your generosity.

Peace and love,

Mambo Racine