TED is one of the most exciting things I do, and as a creative director, I look forward to the insight and heart that's shared at this event. The theme this February 9 to 13 was "What the World Needs Now," which is, in truth, something of a rethink. There were 12 main sessions, in categories ranging from mindshift, imagination, invention, provocation and simplicity. Here's a highlight from TED 2010. In the words of Chris Anderson, "I invite you to immerse yourself in four days of outside-the-box thinking; to dream, to hope, to get just a little bit excited."

Chip Conley creates joyful hotels and what an extraordinary heart this hotelier has.  He creates intellectual, open-hearted discussion on caring not just for the customer, but his staff and investors, to help them realize their true potential.
chipconley.com

David Rockwell draws on his love of drama and spectacle to create fantastic, high-impact restaurants, malls, airline terminals, theater sets - and pop-up imagination playgrounds. I leave a mini set of his children's playground in the office for people to interact with, and learn.
rockwellgroup.com
imaginationplayground.org

Eve Ensler believes that there is a girl cell in all of us, and that girl has an astonishing strength. She created the ground-breaking Vagina Monlogues, whose success propelled to her found V-Day - a movement to end violence against women and girls everywhere. Talk about an iconic women's activist. When she engages and speaks, she brings the house down.
vday.org
Huffington Post

Jake Shimabukuro is on a mission to revolutionize our perception of the ukulele and make the world a more peaceful place. He's divine, and got and the new Eric from the last TED conference. He's also the spokesperson for Music is Good Medicine, a community outreach program that promotes healthy living through music.
jakeshimabukuro.com
musicisgoodmedicine.org
YouTube

TIME ON THE GROUND

Cité Soleil - the biggest slum near the airport. People live in the swamp. There are more children than adults. We left thinking, “What can we do?”

We invited ShelterBox to visit Cite Soleile and see the truth there. We got a group of young women together to bring food and water. Thank you Caroline Saga for caring for your own people and making an impact on these people’s lives. The intention was just beautiful. I reflect back to Urban Zen, and when Donna Karan speaks about community building. This is the essence of what she means.

Porte-au-Prince - the devastation, it was here to see. This is a different Haiti. The buildings and the dust feel like a war zone, as if bombs were dropped on the ground and left a desert of dust and death in its aftermath. There is nothing left. Truly my heart needs to repair.

At the top of the mountain is Fort National, were the military have their home base. There was nothing left, people sleeping in cars. I saw a woman, exhausted, sleeping on the top of her collapsed house. The homes, walls, and life are now crushed to the ground.

The Beginning of The Journey

Sonja Nuttall, the creative director of Urban Zen, and Marc Baptiste, a photographer and an Urban Zen friend, landed in Haiti on Saturday and went to 82nd and Airbourne. The stories they share via email, text and phone calls, range from heartbreak, to moments of beauty.

Sonja says, "For me the the most horrid story was the great fear of the rain, more disease, more sickness.... there is an overwhelming number people in one compound. The hospitals need more help, the doctors are doing everything they can... We were told by a nurse that there are problems with women being raped, they hear their screams at night. 

The government believes they are controlling things, but there is so much that needs to be done.  
This was our first day here.  Tomorrow is another day.  
Thank you Marc, God bless you."

Please check back. We'll continue updating this site with images and videos from Haiti.

COMMITMENT TO CHANGE

At the general hospital supported by Paul Farmer's team with Partners in Health, we met a wonderful nurse. “Where do you start?” I asked.

She replied, “The basics. We need water shelter and basic medical supplies and transportation”

The nurses are burnt out, they are working and living in appalling conditions and they need so much help. There is so much to do. There are no words. The women need support!

Suddenly there was a scream. Quickly we turned around. Marc Baptiste went to respond, and I asked the nurse there was screaming. She said his baby just died, the mother was in the tent screaming for the loss. The family had been waiting for 3 day's to get seen. God Bless them.

We then met up with Real Medicine Foundation. We saw a clinic they created. Here, my hope returned. It was a vision of hope. It was organized, and hygienic. People were being seen. The dignity was returning. The life was beginning.

I also spent some time with Yele Haiti. One distinctive memory is spending time with a Yele representative, racing through Haiti at what felt like 100 miles an hour to see that they are distributing items.

CONNECT

Partners in Health

www.pih.org

Real Medicine Foundation
www.realmedicinefoundation.org

Yéle Haiti Foundation

www.yelehaiti.org

MOMENTS OF HOPE

The camps nearby a clinic supported by Alison Thompson and Sean Penn broke my aching heart. I didn’t think I could feel more helpless, but the situation there dug even deeper in my heart. And my heart was torn right through. Mothers with their babies were coming up to the clinic, all with great needs. Alison was saying the women really need domestic support, especially protection from being sexually and physically abused, and the children need to have more activities and security.

Where do you begin? I felt anger and confusion in the camp. I called it the Bittersweet Camp. But there is no doubt that this wonderful woman, Alison, and Sean Penn are doing the most extraordinary work. Their intention is to stay for a year to serve the medical needs of the community.  Please help us help them.

The second time we went to see the area, the development was remarkable. A small school had begun to develop. Red Cross was delivering clean water. At last, food was being delivered and bellies were being filled. But the anger was still palapable. Help is needed to teal with the aftermath of trauma.

We also went to the outer cities near Port-au-Prince. Jacmel, by the sea, and Croix des Bouquet were also hit hard. The difference is, there were not as many buildings to begin with.  So it looks like there was less devestation, but the need is still great. The outer cities need tents so badly.

We went to see David Bell's school, the Cine Institute, which has been relocated outside of town. It was a beautiful sight, young kids sharing stories, families of hope and life. There is more hope to rebuild this beautiful town. There is passion, life and power here. I truly fell in love with this amazing place.