Bergland church sends help to Haiti

By Nancy Johnson
Contributor

Bergland's Trinity Lutheran's work is helping in Haiti!
The donations and work of Trinity Lutheran Women are helping school children and families in Haiti. Fifty-six We Care bags were sent with Canadian Lutheran World Relief official, Tom Brook on October 31st.
We Care Bags are a project of CLWR based in Winnipeg. The bright yellow tote bags and backpacks bearing the We Care and Canadian Lutheran World Relief logo are made by artisans in India. This work provides income for women to support their families. Our church group pays five dollars for each bag which helps pay shipping of the bags which are filled with specific items.
Church groups across Canada purchase, collect, donate and assemble items that help meet emergency needs in refugee camps created by wars and natural disasters such as earthquakes, hurricanes and flooding.
There are eight categories of We Care Bags; Hygiene, Sewing, Baby Bundles, School Packs, Personal Kit (man), Personal Kit (woman), Children's Kit and Children's Christmas Kit. Many of the kits require new items but there are uses for gently used items such as baby bundles like sleepers (small) undershirts or onesis and sweaters. The personal kits make use of men's shirts and pants and women's dresses or skirts and blouses.
CLWR issued an Advent Challenge to collect 3500 school packs and soccer balls (deflated for shipping) and hand pumps to meet needs of schools reopening in Haiti. Tom Brook told Trinity members that schools have been built in simple wooden structures and that parents there feel their children will be safer in a wooden building than in concrete in case another earthquake strikes. Tom also said, "A little boy whispered to him, Could you please send us a ball?" A School Pack includes 3 notebooks (8 to 10 inch in size), one metric ruler, 6 unsharpened pencils with erasers, 1 pencil sharpener, and 1 pack of 12 or 16 pencil crayons. These items are put in a We Care backpack which the students will use for years.
CLWR also ships quilts, new soap, cloth bandages made from cotton blend sheets, hospital gowns made from men's shirts with collars removed, knitted pneumonia vests for infants.
Trinity Luthern Women have sent more than 100 We Care Kits and at least two dozen quilts in the last year. When the comments from the recipients were reported by Tom Brooks it is obvious that every donation and effort does make a difference in places like Haiti, Tanzania and wherever the shipments are sent.
If you would like to know more about the We Care Bags please contact Carolyn Kreger (488-5714) or Nancy Johnson (852-3253).