Food for the Poor - 2010 Haiti Earthquake (WAREHOUSE/DISTRIBUTION: FOOD/WATER/MED SUPPLIES & EQUIPMENT / TRANSITIONAL SHELTER BUILDING)

From Relief Web:

Haiti: Food For The Poor Installs Water Filtration Systems to Aid Prevention of Cholera

Source: Food for the Poor (FFP)

Date: 25 Oct 2010

CONTACTS:

Kathy Skipper Jennifer Leigh Oates Wanda Wright

Director of Public Relations Public Relations Public Relations

(954)427-2222 x 6614 (954) 427-2222 x 6054 (954) 427-2222 x 6079

kathys@foodforthepoor.org jennifero@foodforthepoor.org wandaw@foodforthepoor.org

Food For The Poor Installs Water Filtration Systems to Aid Prevention of Cholera

COCONUT CREEK, Fla. (Oct. 25, 2010) – Food For The Poor's 24-year tenure in Haiti has aided the nonprofit's immediate response to the spread of cholera. As the threat of disease has loomed over Haiti's recovery from January's destructive earthquake, Food For The Poor remained committed to investing in sanitation and water projects throughout the country.

"Where Food For The Poor has installed water treatment systems prior to this crisis we have not heard of a single reported case of cholera," said Daniel Rouzier, the Chairman of Food For The Poor-Haiti, who is coordinating Food For The Poor's in country response.

The strategy of providing long-term solutions through water filtration systems and permanent housing has benefited regions where Food For The Poor works. The filtration systems each can treat up to 10,000 gallons of water per day and reduce waterborne diseases by removing suspended pathogens. Water filtration units are operational in Poirier, Desdunes (2), Dokozel, Villard, Petit Reviere, Poteneau, Descarreaux, Marchands Dessalines, and Gros Chaudière.

"We have mobilized a good number of doctors and nurses to visit vulnerable areas," wrote Father Duken Augustin, who partners with Food For The Poor in Cap-Haiten, Haiti. "We continue to fight. Please keep us in your prayers."

Infected persons, seeking medical help have traveled south to the capital and north to Cap-Haitien, creating the potential for countrywide contamination – to the point where the neighbor country, the Dominican Republic, has closed its border.

Access to clean water is a matter of life and death for the people of Haiti. Food For The Poor moved quickly to install 10 solar-powered filtration units in Haiti's affected Artibonite region and mobilized the distribution of bottled water by the container. Water Missions International in partnership with Food For The Poor has helped to install the water filtration units. An additional 10 water filtration units will be air freighted and installed in the Artibonite region, for a total of 20 since the cholera outbreak.

"Cholera and malaria do not kill people in First World countries where there is access to medicine," said Angel Aloma, Food For The Poor's Executive Director. "In Haiti, the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, destitute children are often emaciated and their immune systems are compromised. If the disease is not contained, the problem could expand well beyond its current bounds."

Pit latrines and sanitation blocks that include both toilets and shower stalls are critically needed to prevent the spread of dysentery, cholera and malaria. Food For The Poor's permanent homes are constructed to meet these standards.

"Water from the rivers, where the majority of the people find water to drink, bathe, cook and wash, is the same river where animals drink, bathe and defecate," said Aloma.

Critical items being sent are:

1) Medicines, including antibiotics and oral rehydration salts. These will be airlifted.

2) Sanitation and water

3) Hygiene kits with soap, toothpaste and other personal care items to help prevent spread of disease. The distribution of prepositioned supplies in the Port-au-Prince distribution center has been initiated. Approximately 31,000 personal care and hygiene kits were shipped from the Coconut Creek distribution center on Friday.

4) Blankets for more than 46,600 people. Shipment left Food For The Poor's Coconut Creek distribution center today.

5) Powerade and Pedialyte.

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FROM THE SITE:

Help Haiti with your Goods-in-Kind donation

Devastated by the earthquake, the people of Haiti are struggling to survive. Food For The Poor is sending as much aid as possible to victims of the catastrophe, but we need your help.

Donations of the following items are desperately needed to provide immediate relief and begin the recovery process in Haiti. Our Goods-in-Kind Department is seeking shipping-container loads (tractor-trailers) of these materials. If your organization can donate any of the following, please contact us at GIK @foodforthepoor.org. (Please note that we are no longer accepting donations of water)

Items Urgently Needed:

* Powdered milk
* Rice & beans
* Canned meats & fish
* Canned milk
* Baby formula
* Tents
* First Aid supplies
* Emergency medical equipment
* Over-the-counter medications (aspirin, ibuprofen, vitamins)
* Hand sanitizer
* Building supplies (zinc roofing, cement)
* Personal hygiene items (soap, toothbrushes/toothpaste, deodorant)

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5/25/10
Currently building 200 homes per month, looking to increase to 400-500 homes built per month:

http://www.nbcmiami.com/news/local-beat/Housing-for-Haiti-94790634.html

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Note from:

Updates (for US AND Haiti) info posted at:
http://www.foodforthepoor.org/help/quake_updates/

From website -
Haiti Earthquake Relief: Your help is urgently needed to bring immediate emergency relief to those affected. Please donate now or find a location to drop off supplies. Read updates at our Haiti update page, visit our blog, or see the latest photos in our photo gallery.

***Cash donations for Haitian relief efforts given between January 11 and March 1 are deductible on your 2009 tax returns.

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http://wjtl.wordpress.com/2010/01/

The world has come together to reach out to the earthquake victims in Haiti — and yet so much more needs to be done to ease the enormous suffering. Food For The Poor’s feeding center in Port-au-Prince is operational again, feeding thousands of people each day, but we need more funds to ship lifesaving food and clean water to benefit the countless families struggling to survive. Tent cities, some with more than 50,000 people, are scattered throughout the city and lack the basic necessities such as food and water.

The process of recovery in Haiti will be long and difficult. That’s why your continued support is so crucial to the relief efforts.

Please continue to keep Haiti in your prayers. Thank you for your compassion and generosity.