Thanks to the folks here who suggested that I buy a good, solid pry bar from Ace Hardware. I'm going to go and pick one up from Ace Hardware this weekend.

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Here is something to think about ... suppose you had to treat 350 patients in a medical clinic in a slum in Africa. This is a one-day medical clinic, where people are diagnosed and provided with whatever medicines they need. How much do you think that would cost???

Answer: $450.

That's all. That was how exactly much it cost for my relief team to treat 350 patients in an African slum in the middle of 2009 - working in a fairly difficult third world environment. How was this done? By being very resourceful, and utilizing local people/equipment as much as possible. For example, I recruited a group of local African med students to provide some of the doctor/nurse services for free. I also found outlets in the host country where I could buy good-quality pharmaceutical drugs at a fraction of the cost from western countries. All this took a lot of work - but it paid off. Great savings in both $$ and effort are possible if things are planned in a resourceful way.

I'm not saying that the same methods would automatically apply to Haiti. Very likely they would not - especially given the scale of the disaster that has unfolded there. But it is true that vast inefficiencies occur when the relief response becomes uncoordinated. That's why donors wind up paying 89 cents for a can of food, and then people tell you it costs $80 to transport it to Haiti. That kind of statement tells you that people and organizations are not working together effectively.

However ... as Sheriff Blast points out - there's no point being an armchair advisor. In spite of the huge difficulties involved in the Haiti relief effort - a lot of good work will be done. That's what counts!

other Pete