By Dave Vrbas

The Wauneta Breeze

When Barbie Long’s alarm clock woke her on Saturday morning, she’d been asleep barely three hours.

A nurse at Community Hospital in McCook, Long worked overnight and drove a few blocks home to hit the hay after her graveyard shift. Her goal was to get as much sleep as she could before standing outside Walmart that day, asking local shoppers to give from their hearts and wallets to aid Haitian orphans.

Standing in the shade at the store’s south entrance, sleep-deprived and shivering, Long was far more worried about those suffering in a distant land than her lack of sleep. 

“I told myself as I laid there this morning, trying to decide if I could get out of bed, ‘Barbie, you’re so lucky. You’re not trapped in rubble today. You can do this,’” Long said as she handed shopping lists of badly-needed baby and health kit items to folks entering the store.

Long, a 1993 Wauneta-Palisade graduate now living in McCook, and her stay-at-home counterparts in the Angel Baby Project — Missy Blackman (WP Class of 1998) and Crystal Hicks (WP Class of 1995), both of Palisade — are familiar with the concept of counting their blessings through their tears.

Their personal cycles of loss and triumph give the three women  unique perspectives when they see the suffering of others.

Long — a wife and mother of two preschool boys — watched in sorrow five years ago as her young nephew, Andrew Wood, took his last breath in his parents’ arms. The young boy, son of Barbie’s brother, Darrin, and his wife, Tanya, died of complications incurred from a routine round of childhood vaccinations. A typical, healthy young boy, his death sent shockwaves through her family.

Blackman lost an infant daughter, Maya, in December 2005 to Sudden Infant Death Syndrome. Seven weeks premature, Maya was born healthier than her twin brother, Matthew, so her unexpected death was even more shocking and traumatic for the young family. Matthew, now 4, has five surviving siblings who consume Blackman’s limited free time as a stay-at-home mom.

Hicks, too, is a stay-at-home mother of seven children, three of whom were adopted through the foster care system. Her point of view as a foster mother lends her a unique brand of compassion for suffering innocents.

It’s those experiences that inspired these three women to combine forces to do something — anything — as the gruesome images of the Jan. 12 earthquake in Haiti flashed across the television screens in their southwest Nebraska homes.

Long’s personal connections with the House of Hope Haiti orphanage inspired a Facebook message between the three women. Out of that online conversation began the Angel Baby Project, a special way to memorialize Andrew and Maya, as well as pay tribute to Hicks’ foster children and their struggles and triumphs.

“We felt a call from God to help out,” said Blackman. Their website reflects that Christian call. At the top is a Bible scripture from the Book of Matthew: “I tell you the truth. Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.”

Rounding up supplies

Long and Blackman were joined Saturday outside of Walmart by Vicky Hicks, who became an official member of the Hicks family when she was adopted by Crystal and her husband, Jason, in June of 2008. Since Crystal was unable to bring her newborn boy out on Saturday, Vicky stepped in for her mom at the fund and supplies drive.

Together, the three women rounded up two large plastic totes full of supplies, in addition to a couple hundred dollars. The funds collected will be used to purchase more supplies for the orphanage, all of which will be personally delivered to House of Hope Haiti in March. 

Nannette Zander of Oberlin, Kan., a board member for the orphanage, will personally fly the goods received by the Angel Baby Project to Texas where they’ll be loaded up and personally delivered to the orphanage, located 41 miles north of Port Au Prince.

The orphanage was overwhelmed with Haitian babies and children soon after the earthquake claimed the lives of hundreds of thousands of Haitian people. It is estimated that 45,000 Americans were also on the island during the earthquake and 16 were confirmed dead after the quake. Thousands remain missing.

Overwhelmed by the sheer increase in the number of newly-orphaned  babies and young children, House of Hope was relieved to learn that the three women would be working on a supply drive.

Outside the south entrance to McCook’s largest shopping outlet, the three women were moved by the overwhelming support their project received during the four hours they spent there.

Blackman told the story of a young man, probably her oldest son Luke’s age (about 7), who came up to the table and emptied the entire contents of his little wallet into the money jar. The three women fought back tears, giving in a few times, as they watched several people give the entire contents of their pockets and purses to their cause.

“We were very overwhelmed by everyone’s generosity,” Blackman said later that day. “We cried a lot and laughed a lot more.”

Blackman also said the situation has made her realize how fortunate she is. 

“We all three feel very blessed to have children tucked in their beds. And each of us said we wished we could kiss the orphans and tell them they are loved,” she said. “They are children. Their story is a sad one, but we hope we can help. We hope as they receive our items they will know they are loved and prayed for.”

What you can do to help

The women are planning another drive at Walmart in the next couple weeks and hope to cover both entrances next time with a little help.

In the meantime, folks wanting to donate to the project can bring items to the Hicks or Blackman households in Palisade or to Long’s house in McCook. The Palisade Village Office is also serving as a drop-off spot for items on Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. CT.

Items currently being accepted are pre-mixed formula, baby medicines such as Tylenol or Motrin, blankets, diapers and wipes. Health kits are also being assembled, with items such as shampoo, conditioner, toothpaste, Tylenol, Neosporin, Band Aids, toothbrushes and wide tooth combs needed to complete those packages.

Monetary donations to the project will be used strictly for the purpose of purchasing more supplies, since postage will not need to be paid for the hauling of the supplies. 

An account has been established at Pioneer Community Federal Credit Union in Palisade for donations.

For more information on how you can donate or offer your time, contact Missy Blackman at 308-883-0837, Crystal Hicks at 308-285-3465 or Barbie Long at 308-345-7460. 

Their website, www.angelbabyproject.blogspot.com also offers information about what they need and updates on the project.