In January’s Guidepost inspirational magazine, ASR collaborator and friend Alison Thompson shares the story of how she found her new vocation of passionate volunteer and shines the light on five areas around the world that she feels need our help the most.

Alison ( far right, with We Advance team members Maeve McGoldrick, Aleda Fishburn, Deborah from Boston)

Hunter and Andrea met Alison in 2007 as they got more deeply involved in the work that became AId Still Required. Utlizing her nurse’s training as a first responder in the months following 9/11 changed Alison’s life and when the 2004 Southeast Asian tsunami hit, her two week trip to offer aid turned into a 14 month Sri Lankan odyssey, creating a medical center, making a documentary and writing a book along the way. January 2010 saw Alison packing her bags for Haiti, where she still works today, as co-founder of We Advance, a women’s clinic in the most neglected slum area of Port au Prince.

You may have read about The We Advance Clinic in earlier ASR blogs and on the Haiti project page on the ASR website. We Advance provided the location for Aid Still Required’s first Women’s Trauma Relief project in August 2011; last month two more courses, including one for men in the community, were held in a tent adjacent to We Advance. Aid Still Required has also been proud to provide support to The Community Tsunami Early Warning Center on the southwestern coast of Sri Lanka, established by Alison during her tenure there and the only organization of its kind serving the region.

The Guidepost article provides an excerpt from Alison’s book The Third Wave, listing helpful tips of what to bring if you go into a disaster situation

What to Know If You Go
1. Prepay any upcoming bills and leave checks with friends who can pay while you’re away.
2. Get the appropriate vaccinations.
3. A soft backpack is easier to travel wtih than a hard suitcase. Include a first-aid kit. The last thing you want is to become part of the disaster.
4. Be sure to pack water filtration tablets, sunscreen, insect repellent, flashlights and batteries, waterproof matches, rubber gloves, plastic garbage bags, rope, duct tape, a Swiss Army knife, a watch, a compass and energy bars.
5. Pack stickers, bubbles, colored pencils, anything to put a smile on a kid’s face.
6. Take cash in smaller denominations, nothing larger than a twenty.
7. Buy a return ticket in advance. If things get too tough, you can always go home.
8. Don’t forget your faith—in God and in yourself. Leave behind your fear.
—adapted from Alison’s book The Third Wave

If you’d like to read the entire article, click here : Guide Post – Inspirational stories