Kim and I needed a break from the hospital so we got Craig from one of the clean water disaster relief organizations (global medic) to take us up to the tent city. Its only a block away from the hospital and is estimated to have 20,000 refugees living their. No one ever calls them refugees, I haven't heard that word used once and it doesn't even sound right typing it, but I'm trying to accurately describe the living conditions. This tent city is located on the Adventist University campus and is absolutely huge. We spent a few minutes looking at the awesome water facilities being installed by Craig's crew then we walked toward the exit before breaking all the rules and handing out beanie babies and fruit snacks inside the tent city. THIS SHOULD NOT BE DONE! There are 20,000 people here without much. A few people handing out stuff without an orderly plan could lead to a disaster. We just walked into a group of little kids and tried to empty our bags in a few seconds. Within a minute we were overrun by teenagers and adults trying to get whatever we had to give and we were hot footn' it to the exit. Again, this wasn't a good idea, giving toys, etc. needs to be done by a local group in a controlled setting (like an orphanage). The good feeling of helping others wouldn't last too long if little kids ended up getting hurt in a melee. We were smart enough not to do it by the hospital and mess up the medical work happening there, but even doing it in the camp may have made things tough for the next foreigners walking into the camp... they may now think we all have beanie babies!
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