2011-2012 Albendazol Distribution Reports

The International Action team is currently working on releasing a report on its 2011-2012 Albendalzol distribution efforts. Here’s a quick glance of our numbers!

Thanks to our 2011 partnership, a total of 66 schools received aid in all regions of Haiti. Totaling 200,000 pills for 2011.

2012’s cooperation with 13 different local committees and organizations led to the distribution of 413,400 pills.

Bringing our total sum for 2011-2012 at just over half a million! Our deworming campaign’s final number stands at 613,400 pills which were successfully administered and distributed to both children and adults throughout Haiti.

International Action would like to thank all of its partner organizations and community organizers for making our Albendazol distribution a success!

Stay tuned for our full report on our site: http://www.haitiwater.org

Haiti’s Future Looks Bright Three Years After the Earthquake

As some of you may know, in 2010 Haiti was struck by a magnitude 7.0 earthquake. Last Saturday January 12^th, 2013 marked the third year anniversary since Haiti was victim to a catastrophic earthquake. We ask that you please take a moment and remember the people who lost their lives and those that were affected by the tragic event.  We have worked hard to make sure that Haitians have clean water, and now, since the earthquake, 900,000 Haitians have access to clean water because of our efforts.

The earthquake killed over 200,000 people, injured over 300,000, and it displaced over 1 million people.  Asides from human loss, the earthquake also damaged thousands of houses, schools, hospitals, and many other public infrastructure. All of these people are still recovering from the devastating effects caused by the earthquake. Many of the Haitians affected  were left without clean water as their personal or community water stations were destroyed.

International Action has been providing clean water to Haiti since 2005. However, our efforts increased significantly since the earthquake destroyed many clean water infrastructures. Our Clean Water Campaign has been very successful and popular in the Haitian community. This program has helped over 900,000 Haitians gain access to clean, safe water through community-led and-based chlorination projects. We have installed and maintained roughly 140 chlorinators throughout Haiti. Neighborhoods consider the chlorinator a blessing. It does such an effective job providing clean water that people take pride of having one in their community.

As a result, we have started a new project, the Chlorine Bank Network, to make our chlorinators sustainable.  The Chlorine Bank Network will provide a community based chlorine distribution network. The idea to build a chlorine distribution system came from the community. They just need some help to get started and organized. With the Chlorine Bank Network we are beginning a project leading towards community empowerment and sustainability.

We are hoping that in the future Haiti will have a sustainable source of clean water, possibly provided by the Chlorine Bank Network.

One Person Can Make an Impact! Eduardo’s Birthday Wish is Clean Water for Haiti

On November 21^st Eduardo Couto, a student studying International Relations in London, is turning 27 years old. He is not asking for a party. He does not want or need presents. Instead, he wants his friends and family to help our group, International Action, provide clean water to the hundreds of thousands of Haitians in need.

International Action is a Washington D.C. and Haiti based non-profit organization, whose purpose since 2006 has been to improve the health of Haitians by preventing the spread of waterborne diseases in Haiti, such as cholera, typhoid and chronic diarrhea. We accomplish this by installing chlorinators on neighborhood water kiosks, which provide communities and schools with permanent access to clean, safe water.

Roughly 900,000 Haitians now have clean, safe drinking water because of our efforts.

Eduardo reached out to us because he knows that despite all of our success, there are still four million people in Haiti that do not have access to clean, safe water.

Our chlorinators effectively treat water, while remaining inexpensive and easy to use. They have the potential to provide millions of Haitians with clean water, permanently.

What Eduardo is doing is incredible. Please, do something amazing today, join Eduardo and International Action, and give the precious gift of clean water.

Here is the link for Eduardo’s fundraising campaign: http://www.globalgiving.org/dy/fundraiser/prevfund/gg.html?regid=7312.

Tropical Storm Isaac hits Haiti, International Action responds Immediately

Haiti cannot catch a break. In just two years after the devastating earthquake and cholera epidemic, Haiti is dealing with the aftermath of yet another natural disaster: Tropical Storm Isaac. International Action has acted immediately in their efforts to help the Haitian community.

Isaac hit the coast of Haiti on Saturday, August 25^th. The storm affected the South and Southeast coasts as well as the West Department. Approximately 24 people have died as a direct result of the storm. The storm caused floods that wrecked houses, power lines, and cars. The floods have also contaminated many wells making water unsafe to drink.  If this is not dealt with promptly and properly, it could lead to another waterborne disease epidemic.

International Action’s Haiti Director, Dalebrun Esther, has reported back sharing his first-hand experience of Isaac.

“The streets were flooded waist-high and the roofs of the houses were blown away. Many people are being deprived of basic needs. People cannot get access to water, food, shelter, and medicine.”

To make things worse, Isaac affected refugees whom had previously been affected by the 2010 earthquake.

“Many homeless families that had been living in tents since the 2010 earthquake were forced to evacuate. These People have nowhere to go. They need our help.”

International Action reacted instantly in order to help the Haitian people.

“We have been actively involved, trucking water to the communities affected. Neighborhoods like Marie Madeleine located in Croix-des-Bouquets have received clean water from us [International Action].”

 – Dalebrun Esther

Many communities have contacted International Action because they need clean water after the storm contaminated their water and forced them to abandon their homes. International Action is trucking water until the people are back in their homes and their local wells have been fixed.

More Pictures:

Strength in Numbers: Cooperation and Water Saved the Life of Paulin Marius

“Water is essential to our survival. Imagine being without it or having to walk hours to have access to the most vital commodity that we need to go about our daily activities.”

                                                -Madame Nicole Defay, Director of Williamson Village in Haiti

The story of Paulin Marius: how cooperation gave him clean water, which saved his father’s life

Paulin is 14 years old. He lives with his 7 brothers and sisters and his father, who is slowly going blind. His mother passed away during childbirth, and his physical development was stunted following a childhood fever.

This October, Paulin’s father fell ill with vomiting and diarrhea. Paulin walked his dad up a mountain in order to get him to the hospital for cholera treatment.

Paulin with a staff member from Hope for Haiti

One of our partners, Hope for Haiti, gave Paulin a bucket of chlorine to protect his family from future cholera outbreaks.

Clean water has made a healthy life possible for Paulin, his father, his siblings, and many children like Paulin. 

The Bigger Picture:

50% of Haitians do not have access to the most vital of resources: clean water. Waterborne diseases such as cholera, typhoid, and symptoms such as chronic diarrhea are responsible for 16% of deaths for children under the age of 5. Since October 2010, over 418,000 Haitians have been diagnosed with cholera. With so many people lacking access to clean, safe water and the number of people afflicted by cholera growing steadily each month, water and sanitation services must be improved for more people at a faster rate. Cooperation between local governments, community-based organizations, and non-governmental organizations is the only way to protect more people, faster.

The Solution:

We at International Action recognized this, and in July of this year created a Cholera Prevention Consortium. The goal of the consortium is to bring safe water to all corners of Haiti. 22 NGOs and over 20 communities have asked to join our efforts. In September alone, we donated 122  buckets (50 pounds each) of chlorine to 22 groups that work throughout Haiti.

A Glimpse of Our Partners

One of the first groups we donated to was Mercy & Sharing. Mercy & Sharing operates 3 residential care facilities for a total of 116 children in Williamson, located 37 miles northwest of Port-au-Prince. Williamson is very impoverished: the only businesses bringing in any revenue are the hotels on the beach. 51 percent of the orphans at Mercy & Sharing are disabled. They are in even greater need of clean, safe water than most because many have weakened immune systems.  Nearby is a Mercy & Sharing-run school that serves 300 students.

On July 18, 2011, Mercy & Sharing picked up 20 buckets of chlorine from International Action. They needed the chlorine because many of the children they work with were getting sick from contaminated water. Since Mercy and Sharing picked up the chlorine from us in July, they have helped provide over 18,000 people a month with clean, safe water.

“Thanks to the donation of International Action who gratefully donated the chlorine, we are now able to deliver clean water to the Williamson population.

Every day people from the community come as early as 5am to fill their bucket and jugs. Some come with their donkey making sure they carry the most water they can get while satisfying their need until the next morning.

We are lucky to have found such good-hearted people who wholesomely care about the well-being of their fellow brother and sisters.”

                                   -Madame Nicole Defay, Director of Williamson Village in Haiti

Moving Forward 

There are many towns like Williamson; many more groups like Mercy and Sharing wanting help out; and thousands of people who have stories like Paulin.

We would not have been able to help Paulin and his father without the cooperation of our consortium partners. Cooperation and clean water save lives, which is why we will continue to expand the consortium. Please forward this email to any friends and family that would like the opportunity to help out in Haiti.

We have the full support of our staff, our board members, the Haitians we work with, and even President Martelly, who made a speech at the Clinton Global Initiative meeting in New York at the end of September in which he championed International Action for our commitment to provide 2.5 million Haitians with clean water. But most importantly, your support makes all this work possible. Please join us in helping more children like Paulin live a healthy and happy life by donating $30 or $50 a month.

Warmest regards and deepest thanks,

— The International Action Team

Death Toll and Effects of Earthquake Still Unknown

As millions of people continue to tune into the news each night for any update on the Haiti disaster, many questions are still unanswered. Already, 5,000 U.S. troops are present within the region, with thousands more are expected to arrive soon. The U.S. took precautionary steps to assure Haitians that presence within the area would not reflect their invasive actions of 1915. Humanitarian relief is coming from all directions and from all different countries. As U.S. troops make their way into the country, signs are seen that read, “Dead bodies inside” and “Welcome the U.S. Marines.” The President of Haiti, René Préval, is reportedly addressing the nation on Wednesday by radio.

United Nations Secretary General, Ban Ki-Moon, addresses violence in Port-au-Prince and a need for food, shelter, and sanitary water. Many impromptu businesses have developed since the earthquake, and have begun to increase their prices dramatically. One woman was charging $1 (30 gourdes) for a piece of fried chicken, which is normally half a day’s wages for Haitians.

Former President Bill Clinton arrived in Haiti on Monday to tour the hospitals and witness the destruction for himself. Many procedures have been carried out in the dark and many patients flood the hallways. Soon after, he met with René Préval to discuss the aftershock of the earthquake and possible strategies to get humanitarian relief efforts on track.

During these desperate times, International Action has collaborated with other officials to support this worldwide effort. Arch Chemicals,  a chlorine and biocides manufacturer, has been working with IA to transfer water purification supplies to desperate areas.

Your help and generosity is greatly appreciated. We will continue to post updates and hope to hear from anyone with questions, concerns, or advice.

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