Fight childhood disease with safe drinking water

Mamno is a volunteer team leader for Agua Pura in Haiti. He and his team live in an area that recently suffered a damaging earthquake, as well as flooding from excessive rain. Now he is reporting a different and increasing problem in the communities he helps: poisoning and illnesses caused by misuse of agricultural chemicals.
 
Subsistence farmers search for anything that might help them grow more food to eat, and to sell. They purchase pesticides and weed killers to apply to their crops, but receive little or no training and do not have information about the dangers of the chemicals to themselves and their families.  Manmo observes that they are mis-applying the chemicals in dangerous concentrations.  This is not only bad for the crops, but also contaminates drinking water. There are frequent cases of whole families becoming sick by the chemicals. Some of the chemicals are known carcinogens.
 
Mamno and his team are preparing to meet with local farmers to help them learn how to safely use the chemicals and how to protect themselves.  He will be providing gloves, masks and other materials for them to use.  Your donations through GlobalGiving are helping make this possible.
 
We think this is an emergency and we want to help prevent the farm families from getting sick now, but Agua Pura supports farmers moving away from the use of agricultural chemicals to safer, non toxic, less expensive organic farming methods. We sponsor recycling and composting programs in Haiti and elsewhere.  Mamno will also be talking to the farmers about this and how they can grow their crops more profitably with less chemicals.
 
Thank you so much for your support of Agua Pura and our work. The money you have donated has saved many lives.