Health Care and Education for Disaster Survivors

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