Health Care and Education for Disaster Survivors

As the world’s attention turns to new crisis, we were recently reminded that Cholera is still a very real threat by an outbreak at one of our partner orphanages. 11 children at the Foyer d’Orelph were sickened by the water-borne illness and required hospitalisation to recover.

The outbreak was a frightening reminder that Cholera is far from gone in Haiti, but it was also a hopeful illustration that Cholera need not be a deadly disease. Thanks to education provided by EDV and other groups, the orphanage directors were immediately able to identify the signs of Cholera and knew that they must take the children to the hospital.

Their quick action meant that none of the children will suffer any long-term effects from their brush with Cholera, and they were able to recover quickly.

The directors were also ready when emergency supplies like disinfectant and safe water started to arrive. They knew to isolate sick children and start a strict hand washing regiment. With the help of our nurse, they were able to stop the outbreak just four days after it began.

While the situation at Foyer d’Orelph has calmed, it is a sobering reminder that Cholera is not gone, and that without the kind of education that the directors at Foyer d’Orelph received, this disease can still claim lives.

At EDV, we’re working with the Foyer d’Orelph and other vulnerable groups to ensure that during this rainy season, they’re prepared for more Cholera cases. We hope you’ll continue to support our work in Port au Prince – and until May 20th your support will go even further than usual.

During Global Giving’s Recurring Donation Challenge, the group that gets the most recurring donations or raises the most through recurring donations wins up to $2,500!

That means that your monthly donation, even if it’s as small as $10, could help us win more than $2,000 to keep these vulnerable kids healthy.

If you can’t consider making a monthly gift, you can still get involved by letting your friends know about this exciting opportunity to support Community Health Education in Haiti.

Thanks so much for all you’ve already given, and warm regards from Haiti!

Links:

• Learn more about our work at Foyer d'Orelph
• Learn more about Global Giving's Challenge

EDV volunteers recently returned from a cholera and disease prevention training in Fond de Negres. Attended by more than 100 community members, this series of trainings focused on preventing cholera as well as general water safety and how to prevent illness.

These kinds of trainings do more than impart essential information – they also place health in the control of the community. Armed with the knowledge they need, community members can protect their loved ones as well as themselves.

Each person who attended one or more trainings received a card for their attendance. This certificate proves they were present and has the essential facts of water purification, such as how much bleach to use to purify water.

While these efforts contain cholera, they also build connections as part of our larger push to improve health education in the communities where we work. This health education programme aims to control cholera and do much more.

We could never have provided these essential trainings without the support of donors like you. We’re excited to hold more classes and we hope you’ll be a part of giving more Haitians the tools they need to contain cholera by donating today or sharing this page.

Again, thanks so much for all you’ll already done.

Warm Regards,

Links:

• Learn more about Health Education
• View more pictures of this project

After many months, news about cholera is starting to slow, but that doesn’t mean that the need is slowing. We recently visited a community called Fonds De Negres. The area is home to more than 32,000 residents, and people are still dying of cholera.

Or, more precisely, they are dying from a lack of education about cholera prevention.

We met with the mayor who explained that many die simply because their friends and families are too frightened to help them. They believe that if they touch a person with cholera, they too will catch the disease and die.

Yet with proper rehydration, the vast majority of cholera cases are treatable, even outside a hospital. Communities just need to know how to treat cholera and education to break through their fear. What’s more, Cholera is 100% preventable.

Fighting cholera is about more than providing IV fluids and doctors: It’s about basic education on a grassroots level so that families know to how to protect themselves and their loved ones.
When it comes to cholera, a lack of education kills just as surely as the disease itself.

To address this issue, we’ll be supporting cholera trainings in the Fonds De Negres area. But we need your help. We need funds to provide buckets, bleach, soap and pay translators so that those in need have the tools and knowledge they need to protect themselves.

These simple, affordable measures can save lives, so even a small donation makes a big difference. Please do what you can either by donating or spreading the word about the on-going fight to stop cholera.

Thanks so much for all you’ve already done, and we look forward to working with you in the future.

Links:

• Learn more about work to contain cholera

As we mark the one year anniversary of the earthquake, you’re likely to hear many stories about how aid has been diverted, delayed, and how survivors are not getting what they need despite the big promises made.

It can all seem very disheartening and, after reading these reports, some have asked us if their donation has mattered – if there is still hope for Haiti.

While we certainly won’t make light of the issues with the aid effort for Haiti, the hopeless situation presented in some media outlets doesn’t match the situation we see on the ground every day.

Survivors continue to take as many steps as they can to protect themselves against cholera, to educate each other, and to work toward a better tomorrow. They’ve not lost hope, and neither should we.

So tomorrow, we’ll be marking the anniversary with our friends and community contacts helping those most in need. In the face of the many hurdles facing Haiti as recovery continues, we’d like to leave you with the words of a good friend as he talked about EDV, the anniversary, and Haiti.

I am progressing forward, now helping myself and other people become better – become stronger. It was our blessing to have EDV in Haiti to keep our faith strong. Now I think that together, “yes we can!”

Thanks for all you’ve done for Haitian survivors, and take care.

Links:

• Read about political manifestations and cholera in Haiti
• Learn more about EDV's work