The past 2 weeks have been quite eventful and significant. Eventful for Starfysh. Significant for what we want to do in Haiti.

Eventful: Our xray equipment finally cleared customs this week and has made safe passage across the sea to a small hospital in the seaside village of Anse-a-Galets. We can now send our technicians to install it, followed by an xray technologist who will inservice the staff on its use.

Eventful: We delivered the supplies for feeding the school children (cook pots, cooking burners, tableware, serving supplies, etc.) on a container in Grand Rapids, Michigan this week. It departs next Friday for Haiti, where it will need customs clearance before we can deliver it to the school. Next month we will travel down to purchase and assemble the things that can be obtained in country: large propane tanks, connector hardware, fuel, etc. We will retrofit an old kitchen that was used long ago. Back in its day they used charcoal for fuel (which is still, sadly, Haitiʼs main fuel source for cooking food). Charcoal comes from tree wood and we have determined that we will not use it. Haiti needs to keep her trees.

Significant: After a long wait, Starfysh this week received official recognition as a “public charity,” with the following determinations:

• Starfysh is exempt from Federal income tax under section 501 (c) (3) of the Internal Revenue Code.
• Contributions to Starfysh are deductible under section 170 of the Code.
• Starfysh is qualified to receive tax deductible bequests, devises, transfers, and gifts under section 2055, 2106, or 2522 of the Code.

The effective date of this exemption is retroactive to the date of Starfyshʼs formation: February 3, 2010.

We can now move boldly forward. We will make a formal announcement and public launch soon in the near future. Stay tuned.

Welcome to Starfysh. Fledgling. Infant. Wet behind the nonprofit ears. Birthed just months ago (incorporated February, 2010) and still awaiting official IRS nonprofit designation, Starfysh is, nonetheless, very actively growing behind the scenes. Web and literature development, legal, policies, strategies. All early, important, and necessary steps in creating the foundation for long-term effectiveness in a forgotten, out-of-the-way island of precious people in Haiti. They deserve our best and we shall give them our best.

Now, the last thing we want to burden cyberspace with is another hastily-developed, static website that never has anything new to say. It is our hope and expectation that Starfysh will always have something new to say. This weekly column is where you can find those “new things,” a journal of sorts. Updates, news, stories, reflections. If you’ve read this far, I count that as a success. Thank you. It means (I think) that you’re OK with “new” and grassroots and will probably at least give Starfysh a chance.

Bullet Points:

• An official, public launch of Starfysh is being planned for the Fall.
• 100% of each gift designated for a specific project will go directly to that project. Zero percent of that gift will be taken out for “administrative fees.” To learn more about how we pull that off, go to “Where Needed Most” on our projects page.
• We have just reached the full funding necessary to provide xray capability to a small mission hospital on the island of La Gonave. We anticipate delivery to the hospital in about one month, installation soon after that.
• New on this site is a place where you can go to get very specific suggestions on how you can pray for this ministry and for the people on the island of La Gonave, Haiti. Please pray. We dare not proceed without God’s blessing, wisdom, and protection.
• In just a few weeks I will be traveling to Haiti to meet with school, hospital, and village leaders on the island. Pray for direction, protection, connections, and progress.

Steve Edmondson