One woman, one stove, five days, 550 muffins. Debrin Foxcroft tells how her Waitakere mother's mammoth bake-off raised close to $1000 for people in earthquake-striken Haiti.
My car reeks of muffins. Chocolate and lemon flavouring tickle the nostrils whenever I open the door. I never want to see another muffin again.
When the earthquake hit Haiti, there was an overwhelming sense of helplessness. With so many people suffering, how can you help? How can one person make a difference?
In my house, it took two of us and a lot of hungry people. My mother was already interested in the country. She sponsors children in Haiti. But she wanted to do something more. All fired up, she switched on the oven. I made a poster and a plan. For one week Mum made muffins and we both sold them to family, friends, workmates and anyone else who was hungry. Over the course of five days, more than 550 lemon and double-chocolate chip muffins were issued from our kitchen. From sweet-toothed people we made $872 for the cause.
My mother, Wendy Stewart, says people have wondered why on earth she would wake up at 5am each morning to bake fresh muffins to sell, then go to work. "Faith is the driving force for me. I'm a Christian and I believe that God's heart is for the poor," she says. "I believe that if I love God then he gives me that same heart. The question is not how can you do this, it's how can you not do this?"
So, every morning Mum baked. I then would load up the car and drive those muffins to work. There were orders by the dozen and all the extras were always sold before morning tea. I collected the money in a brown paper bag. By the end of the week it was bursting. The money went to Tear Fund on Monday. Beth Harper, advocate manager at the fundraising organisation, says money raised across New Zealand will be channelled through two groups in Haiti: Compassion, a child sponsorship scheme, and Integral Alliance, which has set up makeshift hospitals
Where exactly the muffin money will go is explained by Tim Glenn, a Compassion staff member in Haiti. Over a scratchy satellite phone he says he is just hanging in there while he tries to help in the disaster zone.
"Right now, what Compassion is doing is putting together survival kits. Seventy thousand of these will go out to families this weekend. We will do the same in the next week."
"Put simply, we need money so that we can buy the supplies on the ground and tailor what we give out to the needs of each family."
In the comfort of Auckland we simply can't fathom what the people of Haiti are enduring. But we can help. We can bake and we can part with a little cash.
Where the money goes
Tear Fund's Jon Horn says how much money is sent overseas depends on how much the organisation receives. "We have spent $20,000 on advertising. So if people donate $200,000 for example, then costs like advertising are 10 per cent. If the donations equal $400,000 then it's only five per cent."
Tear Fund has a reserve to cover its commitments. Everything else that comes in goes out.
To donate through a New Zealand-based aid organisation with a Haiti appeal:
Red Cross NZ 0800 733 276
Oxfam 0800 400 666
Unicef 0800 243 575
Christian World Service 0800 747372
World Vision 0800 802000
Save the Children fund 0800 167 168
Caritas 0800 22 10 22
TEAR fund 0800 800 777
cbm New Zealand 0800 772 264
Donations to the New Zealand Red Cross Haiti appeal can be made in any ASB Bank branch nationwide, or to ASB account 12-3192-0006848-01, reference Haiti.
Rotary NZ Westpac account: 03 1702 0192208 02 Or cheques to RNZWCS Ltd, PO Box 20309, Christchurch
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