Jul. 11, 2008
Counting the Cost . . .You Do the Math
Posted in Miscellaneous Stuff
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I recently have had contact with a nurse who does short term missions trips to Haiti, and helps in three clinics. I also "talked" with another lady about her womens program. One of their programs gives New Mom Bundles to mothers who have recently delivered or are near term. The bundle consists of a t-shirt, diaper, and receiving blanket, if I remember correctly. Because of my work with Homebound Missions, I decided this was a project I could and would like to take on, but I wanted to do it a little different. You know me, I'm just wanting to do my own thing. So the New Mom Bundles I'm putting together are pretty much the same, except that instead of one disposable diaper it has three cloth diapers and a set of diaper pins. Now here's the part where math comes in. A cloth diaper from WalMart costs $1 A days wages in Haiti $1 If you figure a days wages in the US based on an 8 hour work day at $7/hr. (American Poverty) that translates to $56. Would you be able to afford diapers if you had to pay $56 a piece for them? 4 diaper pins or 1 pair of vinyl pants cost about the same as one cloth diaper. How about a simple three snap front t-shirt from Gerber? Cost approximately $2.85 3 days wages in Haiti $3 Would you be able to spend three days wages ($168) for a single t-shirt? A home made flannel receiving blanket $5 A weeks wages in Haiti $5 Would you be able to spend a weeks wages ($280) on a single flannel receiving blanket? The total New Mom Bundle including the time to put them together and the cost of shipping them to Haiti will cost $15 and it may well be the only gift the mom receives to celebrate the arrival of her new baby. 3 weeks wages in Haiti $15 Would you spend 3 weeks wages ($840) on a single baby shower gift? How about $15? This math lesson certainly has made me reconsider my own American poverty. As a single mom with two children, I see, in comparison, how truly blessed we are in our poverty. Blessings, MaggieRaye |
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