Real need.

Forewarning: This post is a departure from my typical, lighthearted blog. It's a plea.

As I read the constant updates coming out of Haiti my gut twists into a giant, aching knot. I know I'm not alone. The world is full of people asking what can they do. I feel like such a tiny little speck, but even this speck can try to help. And this speck wants you to try, too.

In church yesterday my pastor mentioned the tens of thousands of children that became orphans with that one sweeping gesture. Not only must they face their scariest days without the guiding hand we tend to think will always be there, but they do so with a frightening degree of vulnerability.

The Haitian government suspects child traffickers are taking these Haitian orphans out of the country for their own perverse use. And the knot twists again.

The United States government has issued humanitarian parole (it temporarily grants otherwise inadmissable aliens into the U.S. due to a compelling emergency) for a few hundred orphans that were already matched with adoptive parents prior to the earthquake. We can take more. Much more.

Below is a link to learn more about the situation and people that can do something about that. Let these contacts from Florida know that we need to continue to grant humanitarian parole. We need to protect these children. We need to do our part.

http://tiny.cc/haiti176

George LeMieux
(202) 224-3041

Cliff Stearns
(202) 225-5744

Bill Nelson
(202) 224-5274

Corrine Brown
(202) 225-0123