Calling All Condoms

Donations continue to arrive daily. I'm so pleased by everyone's generous donations. All the donations are laid out in separated piles on my dining room table, in preparation for packing. When I walked in the door last night, my kids came running up to me, "Daddy stole from the Haitians!" "What are you kids talking about?!" I was thinking, what could he possibly want from the dining room table? It was full of prenatal vitamins and hairbows, and .... Condoms!!! I tracked him down. "Honey, did you take something off the dining room table?" He smiled shyly. "I only took one." "Did you really think you were going to get lucky with a stolen prophylactic?" I asked.

On a serious note though, more condoms would be greatly appreciated (I promise to protect them from both husband and teenagers). The blog from the crisis center mentions unplanned pregnancy and complications from abortions were a growing problem. As is typical after a disaster, so is sexual abuse and assault and physical abuse of women. Women and children are just more vulnerable after a disaster, as social constructs (and the men) that protect them fall away. Condoms are just one small tool in an arsenal of protection for women. I hope to give them that tool. Condoms protect against both sexually transmitted disease, and unwanted pregnancy. No other contraceptive device offers both.