There were six or seven monkeys in the troop and they were working their way across the Reserve jumping from tree top to tree top, from limb to limb. The alpha male of the group kept an eye on Mike and me while we kept an eye on the troop. The monkeys were as big as a large domestic cat and barked like a small dog. It was one of the most amazing animal sightings on the Reserve. We talked to Jose Sanchez, the Reserve caretaker, and he said that the monkeys had been in and around the Reserve for about one month. Jose has lived near the Reserve for decades and this was the first time he had ever seen white-faced monkeys in the area.

The white-headed capuchin is important to rainforest ecology for its role in dispersing seeds and pollen. We are assuming they are attracted to the RIESTER Reserve because of the reforestation efforts of the Foundation.

The white-headed capuchin is intelligent. It is mostly black, but with a pink face and white on much of the front part of the body. As a new world monkey it has a prehensile tail that is often carried coiled up and used to help support the monkey when it is feeding beneath a branch.

In the wild, the white-faced capuchin is versatile, living in many different types of forest, and eating many different types of food, including fruit and other plant material. It lives in troops that can exceed 20 animals and include both males and females.

Of all the animals seen on the Reserve, including Howler Monkeys, armadillos, coatis, blue morphos butterflies, parrots and mott motts, the sighting of the white-faced troop is one of the most memorable.

Learn more about the RIESTER Foundation.

Baby turtles head to the ocean with full protection from the RIESTER Foundation. The biggest threat that would have prevented the birth of these turtles is poachers stealing the eggs.

Lindsay’s full account of what he witnessed in Costa Rica.

In our last update, this past December, Tim Riester and Jeff Kutz discussed the ongoing work of the RIESTER Foundation in Costa Rica to protect sea turtles from poachers.

In some regards the situation remains the same. Already endangered as a result of overfishing, the black market trade in turtle eggs could easily further endanger this sea life in Central America where poaching rates on unprotected beaches are very harmful.   The Olive Ridley turtle is the most prevalent species of turtle where we are working.

The Olive Ridley turtle has an average life span of 50 years and will grow to 100 pounds.  These turtles have lived on Earth for millions of years and are well worth protecting.

Like the canary in the coal mine, the turtles represent the overall health of the ecosystems in which we all live.

What is most exciting this year is the conservation outreach to children in the nearby town of Corozolito–where I saw turtle eggs for sale in a local bar–changing attitudes for future generations.

Conservation work takes commitment and optimism.  It’s rewarding to see progress, especially now.

Gary Kaasa
President
RIESTER Foundation

Since that time, human populations have continued to expand and the fragile consensus regarding environmental policy broke down. Humans need wild places, not just as places to visit, but as places they can go even in their imagination. Non-human species are going extinct at unprecedented rates. One example, among many, is the dramatic decline in wild tiger populations.
Biodiversity is more than an abstract concept and it’s more than protecting some of our planet’s most noble and emblematic species like tigers and eagles.  Consider this: If all insects were to die, humans would likely not survive more than a few months.  Visit this website to learn more about the vital functions that creepy, crawly insects perform to make life on Earth possible. All life is interconnected—something that is too easy to forget.

Biodiversity is important for our economy and maintaining the diversity of the gene pool. The Convention on Biological Diversity put it in perspective:  “At least 40 percent of the world’s economy and 80 percent of the needs of the poor are derived from biological resources. The richer the diversity of life, the greater the opportunity for medical discoveries, economic development, and adaptive responses to such new challenges as climate change.”

If we continue to use more and more resources without thinking of the consequences to the planet, we will be condemning our children and their children to live lives that lack the material prosperity of today. Our choices will also affect the health of those who follow.

Our goal is to leave a healthy planet to our children, and their children.  That is why the RIESTER Foundation works to preserve and protect the environment through habitat preservation and restoration.

Coho salmon

A new project the RIESTER Foundation is supporting is the Salmon Protection and Watershed Network or SPAWN.  SPAWN is a California-based organization that works to protect and restore endangered coho salmon and steelhead trout and the habitat on which they depend.

SPAWN uses a community-based approach to habitat restoration that is in alignment with who we are at RIESTER: Brand Activists for our client’s products and causes.

I encourage you to read more about SPAWN. SPAWN is doing some of the hands on work that is so important for protecting diverse forms of life.

Thank you for helping us make Earth Day every day!

Sincerely,

Tim Riester

Excerpt from an email sent by Toby Banks from Haiti:

Our facilities in Haiti sustained considerable property damage in the devastating earthquake on Jan. 12. None of the staff or orphans in our care were injured but one house was destroyed and the orphanage needs extensive repairs. Our organization has served the people of Haiti for more than 30 years; we were here before the earthquake and we will be here long after the various large crisis organizations are gone.

We have been blessed by so many people through prayer, encouragement and financial support during this crisis. We have also been blessed by a large construction firm in Ohio who will come alongside us with engineering expertise and construction supervision in building a new orphanage facility that will be stronger and meet the evolving needs of the girls in our care. Repairs on the existing orphanage building have started and once completed, the girls will return there temporarily until the new facility is finished.

We have already begun the process of long-term community relief to assist with the needs of our Croix des Bouquets neighbors. We are meeting immediate needs for food, medical care and temporary housing. Our plans for rebuilding focus on encouraging neighbors to help one another and providing economic stimulus to the area by paying a stipend for work completed.

Pa Bliye Ayiti (Don’t forget Haiti).

>>>>>>>>End dispatch from Haiti<<<<<<<<<

We would like to thank Brad DiIorio of Salt Lick Publishing for donating space in Q Salt Lake to run the following ad:

Roy is in his early twenties. He’s tall, clean cut and never seems to be in a bad mood—though if you don’t know him well he can be quiet and shy. Once you get to know him, you see his wicked and quirky sense of humor.

In the summers of 2004 and 2005, Roy joined a youth group and volunteered his time by traveling to Haiti. He spent two weeks there each summer, and he says that his time in Haiti gave him a new perspective on the world.

Never had he seen or imagined poverty like he saw in Haiti. His trips there revolved around three orphanages. One of these orphanages is called Wings of Hope—they take in disabled children and children with special needs.

Poverty, poor health, the dangers of childbirth and disease have long conspired in Haiti to leave hundreds of thousands of children without parents. Some parents simply can’t care for their children in the poverty-stricken nation. The children at Wings of Hope with their special needs had found a refuge in a country with few resources to care for them. These are the people Roy was there to help by doing service projects.

The youth group he traveled with took the maximum number of bags they were allowed to carry–loaded with basic supplies including toilet paper. It was difficult to ship things to Haiti because packages were regularly ransacked, misdirected or simply stolen.

In Haiti Roy saw open sewers for the first time—ditches on the roadsides with raw human wastes exposed to the open air. He saw a lot of other things too. Roy referred us to this report to read more about some of the problems in Haiti: “Paradise Lost: Haiti Without Trees.”

Roy says his time there was “eye opening.  It changed my life and how I think about things.” When he came home, things that used to bother him, or that might upset his friends, didn’t seem as important anymore. After observing extreme and widespread poverty first-hand, the world just felt different. It all made “me happy to have what I have,” he says. “We have so much here, and they have so little.” Through reaching out to others, Roy felt he had made a difference. He was inspired by the work of the orphanages in Haiti where he was helping. “Never underestimate your ability to make a difference, small acts of kindness make the world a better place.”

Pam Doan, one of Roy’s colleagues at RIESTER, describes him as a young man with an old soul. He’s a great guy and his perspective on Haiti has given all of us at RIESTER insight into that stricken nation.

The RIESTER Foundation is raising money for an orphanage in Haiti that was badly damaged during the quake.

Some of the girls from the Hope Center for Orphaned Girls--the orphanage the RIESTER Foundation is raising money for. Their conditions are rough, their home from before the quake is unusable. Never lose faith in the ability to make a difference in the lives of others. Photographed this week in Haiti.

From Toby Banks:

After 60 hours of camping on the floor of the embassy, Sterline became ill with a stomach illness. A doctor came to check on her and gave us some things to help her, but caring for her in the environment we were in was impossible. There were literally thousands of people going through the area we were in with 2 toilets. Diapers, wipes, baby food, water and MREs were provided. The embassy personnel, DHS folks, DOS folks, Consular General folks, everyone in the embassy was gracious and accommodating. In spite of this, the girls were becoming increasingly uncomfortable and upset as time was passing. We were unable to sleep, sharing 2-3 spoons and water bottles, could not bathe or even properly clean the girls and I knew that once Sterline became ill, it was just a matter of time until the illness was passed to others because of the conditions. It was a difficult decision to make, and even looking at our goal of evacuating the girls as the high priority, I had to decide to move from the embassy to our temporary shelter at the clinic so the girls could be cared for. This does not mean that we have ceased our attempts to evacuate the girls or even that our attempts have lessened. It just means that we had to change our address to work from.

>>>>>>END DISPATCH FROM HAITI<<<<<<

To support the Hope Center for Orphaned Girls please send a check to:

RIESTER Foundation
802 North 3rd Avenue
Phoenix, AZ 85003

Please write “Haiti” in the memo line of the check.

All contributions are welcome and will be used for the orphanage.

To see all updates from RIESTER regarding Haiti visit: http://www.riester.com/haiti

One of the girls at Hope photographed in December of 2009, before the earthquake.

The mission of the RIESTER Foundation is to preserve, conserve and protect our planet. We are active both locally and internationally with projects in Arizona, California, Guatemala, and Costa Rica.

Due to the extreme situation in Haiti after the January 12 earthquake, we made a quick decision to do our part to help in Haiti where the human suffering is hard to comprehend. Toby Banks, a very good friend of Tim Riester’s, runs an orphanage in Haiti: The Hope Center for Orphaned Girls. The RIESTER Foundation is working to raise money to support this orphanage at this time of great need.

Our foundation has no paid staff. Because we are matching donations this means that 200% of what you donate will go directly to support the orphanage in Haiti. Your donation of $10, $20, $100 or more will have twice the impact.

As I watch the news coverage I realize how fragile life can be and that we should all be willing to step up to help the less fortunate.  The girls at the Hope orphanage have no shelter as a result of the earthquake and our donations will make an immediate difference in their lives. Toby Banks and her husband Tim are trying to find a way to evacuate the girls temporarily, but their home is in Haiti and funds are needed to help them rebuild.

Please send a check to:

RIESTER Foundation
802 North 3rd Avenue
Phoenix, AZ 85003

Write “Haiti” in the memo line of the check.

From the entire RIESTER Foundation Board thank you for considering this worthy cause.

Gary Kaasa
President, RIESTER Foundation

Please use the following URL for all updates from RIESTER on Haiti: http://www.riester.com/haiti

Young girl at Hope. Photo predates the earthquake.

The situation in Haiti is dire. Our friends Tim and Toby Banks are struggling to deal with the chaos around them. They need to care for two of their own children who live in Haiti with them and the twenty girls whose home is the orphanage. 

The orphanage, which is both school and home to the Banks and the twenty orphan girls who live there is unsafe and unusable. The Hope Center for Orphaned Girls exists to provide a stable home and an education to young Haitians without parents. It is not an orphanage that places children with adoptive families. The number of orphans in Haiti, over 200,000 before the earthquake, has led to a variety of types of orphanages to serve these children. Hope raises Haitian girls to live productive lives in Haiti. One of Haiti’s many problems is high illiteracy and lack of education. Hope is working to change that.

Because the situation is so bad and there is not currently a home or even a safe place for the girls at Hope, the Banks decided the best thing to do was to seek temporary asylum and bring the orphans to their home in Ohio until the building could be secured and the situation in Haiti stabilizes.

On Wednesday, U.S. Embassy personnel granted humanitarian visas and the group of 23 was about to begin their journey out of Port-au-Prince. Before they could leave, the paperwork was subsequently revoked. The visas granted were a new type of visa created by the Department of Homeland Security specifically to speed the process of migration for Haitian orphans being placed in American families. The orphans at Hope live in the custody of Americans who are temporarily expatriates–there is no intention to permanently relocate the orphans to the U.S. They fall into a grey area where no current visa clearly covers them.

For over two days, Toby, her two children and the twenty girls camped out inside the U.S. Embassy. Tim Banks is planning to stay behind to begin the rebuilding process. Last night officials at the embassy encouraged Toby to stay with her group inside the embassy. Current laws and rules do not allow her to take the children out of the country, however, because of the extraordinary circumstances Toby and Tim are hopeful that something will change.

This afternoon Toby and the children left the embassy and went back to Hope’s compound. They are still trying to find a way to leave the country for a temporary safe haven.

Regardless of what comes next Tim and Toby Banks need funds for the orphanage especially because of the extreme situation they are facing as a result of the earthquake.

The need in Haiti is huge. There are many good people and organizations working as hard and fast as they can for the millions of people affected by the earthquake. Because of our connection to the Banks we are doing what we can to help them. Please join us.

Your contribution will make a difference for twenty little girls aged 2-13 who need our help. Please send a check to:

RIESTER Foundation
802 North 3rd Avenue
Phoenix, AZ 85003

Write “Haiti” in the memo line of the check.

Thank you.

See all posts regarding Haiti at http://www.riester.com/haiti/

Photos can't begin to capture the extent of the ruins. Members of Fairfax County Urban Search and Rescue scale the former Montana Hotel during rescue operations in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Jan. 14, 2010. The all volunteer service partnered with U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and multi-national relief agencies to support relief efforts in the aftermath of the 7.0 magnitude earthquake. Photo by member of U.S. Navy.

There have been at least two reports from ABC News mentioning the orphanage the RIESTER Foundation chose to assist in Haiti. The most recent report includes footage taken live during the earthquake at the Hope Center for Orphaned Girls:

Click here to see the video on the ABC website with footage taken during the quake at the orphanage.

Last week Diane Sawyer did a story focusing on the problems of parentless children in Haiti. In this report Tim’s friend Toby Munson Banks is mentioned by name and she appears in the video (in a red shirt) though she doesn’t speak on camera:

Click here to see Diane Sawyer’s report from last week on Haiti’s orphans and footage of Toby Munson Banks.

There are many worthy causes related to the massive devastation in Haiti. The RIESTER Foundation chose to raise money for the Hope Center for Orphaned Girls because of our personal connection and because of the immense problem of children in Haiti with no parents.

Visit riester.com/haiti for all posts related to this effort.

Thank you for your support.

Photo from the orphanage courtesy of Toby Munson Banks via Facebook. Photo taken in 2006.