Good to be Small

(AP) Nearly nine months after the earthquake, more than a million Haitians still live on the streets between piles of rubble. One reason: Not a cent of the $1.15 billion the U.S. promised for rebuilding has arrived. At fault: bureaucracy, disorganization and a lack of urgency.

Because Paper Houses Across the Border remains a small charity, we remain efficient, effective and direct. Typically, we spend donations within 5-days of being received. We drive directly to the homes of the people, personally assess each situation and take immediate emergency action.

Our actions often include long-term plans and we often seek partnership with a Mexican business, charity or group. We form these partnerships on the spot. We either bring the family with long-term or high-dollar needs to a business, charity, church in Mexico or we take someone from these places with us when we visit a family. Everyone knows that we expect an immediate answer and that we 'do not fool-around' when it comes to taking action.

"A hungry person does not get excited when you form a committee to discuss his problem. He gets excited about a sandwich!"

It is gratifying to tell Juan Pedro's parents to take him on the next bus to Monterrey where he will be immediately fitted with a prosthetic leg. We know this means that we must immediately raise $4,350, but our experience has always been that Americans will jump in to help when they see that every penny of their money is used to help children like Juan Pedro.

Many of the children we help benefit from very small donations. Our school lunch program only costs us 12 cents per day to provide a hot and nutritious meal for a child. We have an army pf volunteer cooks in Mexico and the ingredients for these meals is subsidized by the Mexican government.

Today, FOX News reported on a scandal about the lunch programs in the U.S. school cafeterias. The reporter spoke about the lack of inspections, the poor quality of the food and said that many of these meals were less nutritious than meals at a fast food restaurant. The way these meals were described convinced me that if my children were in school they would pack their lunch!

But this is not the case in our lunch program. Because the cooks are volunteer parents, trained and certified by the state in meal preparation and health laws,the ingredients are carefully inspected when delivered. The volunteers prepare the meals and carefully clean the kitchen and cafeteria every day.

We visit these cafeterias without notice and conduct our own inspections. We also have a meal with the children and interview parents, the teacher, students and the volunteer cooks every month. Because we remain small, we are able to see everything, first hand.

It is good to be small.