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I mentioned yesterday that Shawn and Paul were headed into the field to hand out the non-food family disaster relief kits to families in need. For those of you who donated, he was able to post cameraphone images of those he gave the kits to. If you’ve been following him on Twitter, you’ve already seen some of these images.

Shawn and Paul have come back from the disaster area and were able to give us a brief update on YouTube.

Even though they’re back, it’s not too late to donate which you can do by clicking here.

Thank you once again to everyone who’s donated and shown your support on YouTube and Twitter. This really couldn’t have been possible without you guys.

- Morgan

Since Shawn and his friend Paul are armed only with their cellphones while in the field, this blog post is brought to you by flawedartist.

After close to a week and a half of searching for a way to bring aid to those displaced by Cyclone Aila, Shawn’s only a few short hours away from delivering over 45 non-food family disaster relief kits to families in need.

What makes this trip unique is the fact that Shawn has been able to share Mobile vlogs, Cameraphone images, along with updating Twitter to give everyone real time coverage of this weekend journey. It’s amazing to think that within 72 hours of donating, I will be able to see the smiling faces of those I’m helping.

Words cannot describe how amazing that feeling is.

While Shawn has already uploaded several mobile vlogs to YouTube, you can watch his latest mobile vlog here:

… and this is only the beginning. Please be sure to check back, as I’ll be updating you guys again once he makes it to the main relief site.

If you are interested in buying a kit that Shawn will be giving to those in need, you may do so here. These kits include:

• 1 Family-sized mosquito net (7 x 5 ft)
• 1 blanket (7 x 5 ft)
• 1 tarpaulin (plastic sheet you can use as a roof 30 x 5 ft)
• 1 bucket
• 1 pitcher
• 1 mug
• 1 bar of soap

I would like to thank everyone who has donated so far, specifically two of my good friends Andrei and Russ.

The more things change, the more they stay the same it seems. Back in 2007, I was in a car on the way to Southern Bangladesh. Cyclone Sidr had just hit and I was going to see how I could help.

Now here I am: it’s 2009, I’m in another car, heading to Southern Bangladesh, to try and help in the aftermath of another cyclone.

I don’t know what to expect. I’m reassured, somewhat, by the significantly lower death toll. It’s in the hundreds, not thousands. Small condolence if you’ve lost a loved one though.

There are a couple of things different this time though. First, I’m traveling with a friend this time. Hopefully this will be less of a solitary journey compared to my work during Cyclone Sidr. Also, it’s not just by money this time. With online donations, there is already enough funds to provide emergency non-food assistance to 45 families.

If you want to chip in, you still can here. I can monitor incoming donations from the field.

Image via AFP

Although not anywhere near as bad as Cyclone Sidr which hit Bangladesh in 2007, Cyclone Alia has already killed 100 over 200 people with many more displaced and without access to shelter or clean & safe drinking water. I want to help – but I might as well be back in my bed in Canada because that goal is so very far away.

I need a hero.

Nick Downie (2007)

I was able to help during Cyclone Sidr because of someone who is now a personal hero of mine. His name is Nick Downie. Back during Cyclone Sidr, he was working for Save the Children UK. In the midst of all this death and trauma, Nick saw the sincerity in my desire to help… and gave me the opportunity.

Helping Kids with Save the Children

Thanks to him approximately 35 children at a Save the Children Safe Center were provided with blankets to sleep under in advance of the winter season that was quickly approaching. Without any homes or shelter, those blankets were the only way many of those children & families were able to stay warm that winter. I’m willing to help again and have even more to offer this time.

One LifeStraw = Clean Water For A Year

Thanks to Vestergaard-Frandsen I have 45 personal water purification units. These can turn water from any salt-free source (a pond, a river, a lake) and turn it into safe drinking water. I have 10 insecticide treated tarpaulins – useful as shelter and to keep disease spread by bugs away. I also have donations from over 22 different countries ready to be spent. But I have no means to help anyone just by myself.

I need a hero again.

Thus far, my friends at Save the Children are working up the various chains of command trying to see if I can team up again. No word yet – but I am hopeful. A friend at the American International School helped me network with the Deputy Country Director of Care Bangladesh. The Deputy Country Director thanked me for the offer – and then politely denied my request.

I am ready willing, and able to go to the field right away. I know it’s not going to be a glamorous experience. Last time I went, the “toilet” was nothing more than a hole in the ground and my “bed” was nothing more than two abandoned school desks put together. I don’t ask for much except the opportunity to get out there, help, and share the story with those interested in following along.

It’s disasters like Cyclone Alia that highlight a painful reality for me here in Bangladesh. Charities are more than happy for people like me to raise awareness & funds for them back home. But doing the same with them on the ground is a completely different reality – and the majority of charities haven’t given me the time of day to even consider the possibility.

Now more than ever, I need someone to help me so I can help others.

Country Director for Save the Children USA in Bangladesh

“This is development work,” he said to me as I sat across from him. I was in the offices of Save the Children USA with Kelly Stevenson – the country director. I had lost count of how many meetings I’ve had with him – though I was grateful for every single one.

My view of development work and fighting poverty has certainly changed a lot since I first started this project. For one thing, I had come into this project with an overly consumerist attitude to fighting poverty.

Having started by using my money saved for an Xbox 360 to help the poor, I foolishly assumed that helping the poor would be as easy as buying an Xbox 360. That is, I thought if you had the money, you should just be able to do it.

But it’s never that easy. And, if anyone tells you it is, they’re lying.

The first thing I learned is that non-profit organizations don’t run like for-profit organizations. “Duh!” some of you are no doubt saying right now. I always assumed that non-profits would be as eager to take my money to help the poor the same way Best Buy would be eager to take my money and give me an Xbox 360.

But it’s never that easy.

Staff in Barisal - Working on My Project Means Other (Bigger Funded) Projects Go Temporarily on the Backburner

One thing I learned with Save the Children USA is that every level of their staff plays a fine balancing act. They work in a world where the need is so great and the resources are so very finite. Every time they give their attention to one project (or one person), it comes at the cost of ignoring something else.

In such a reality, you can’t help but feel a bit guilty. Every meeting I have with Save the Children was coming at the cost of something else. I also realized that – if they were purely utilitarian or doing it by the numbers – they’d never give me the time of day. I mean, when you have multi-million dollar grants to deal with, who would have time for a kid with a couple of grand?

Then there are emergencies.

Meeting to Discuss "Challenge Poverty" Projects

Emergencies in Bangladesh are like a giant reset button. No matter what progress you make or what you have scheduled – it can all go down the drain when an emergency comes. Whether it’s violence that delays a trip or a cyclone (like yesterday’s Cyclone Alia) – when an emergency comes, everything stops. No matter how important.

Over 100 days ago, I flew to Bangladesh in order to complete Challenge Poverty. The goal was to complete a Pond Sand Filter for a rural village & to help repair a school damaged by Cyclone Sidr. Although I know Save the Children is doing their best, there are a lot of hurdles and a lot of things to take care of before any of this is complete. I still don’t know when it will all be done.

It’s never as easy as it looks.