Hand washing & Hygiene in Haiti

Many of the IDP camps we work in have constant demands for hygiene, health and sanitation. The people crowded together with limited resources exacerbates the vulnerability they have to preventable diseases. The environments they live in can not support the daily survival demands. Our jobs focus on these hygiene, health and sanitation issues in the camps. The Haitian people continue to astound us as we have been here and observed how serious and motivated they are about health in the camps. The participation and capacities of the people are unbelievable, from the young to the old. Community based health education in IDP scenarios is critical. In our training program for hygiene and health I work with two local hygiene promotors, one of which is a community nurse. I have the privilege of having two of the greatest woman in all of Haiti, who lead and build up the capacities of all of the communities we work with. Here is a snap shot of our week...

The hand washing workshops

Our first week in Haiti

We arrived in Haiti via Florida with a stop over on the beautiful Turks and Cacios Caribbean island for a refuel stop. Our first day we were taken to Grand Goave near the Leogane zone which is very near the epicenter of the quake. This is where our base is located. As we drove through the heart of Port-au-Prince, we began to see the vast devastation the quake did to the city. Then as we move into the area we are working for our time here and see even more devastation around us. The impact of the earthquake is immense and indescribable. 80-90% of Leogane is destroyed. Dust abounds. Rubble is everywhere (even more prolific than the number of NGOs here in Haiti). Military helicopters flying over is one of the most common sounds. Internally displaced persons camps are growing fast. The water, shelter, food and medical needs are endless.

Yet the people were busy selling and buying goods and seem to be incredibly resilient in the face of the disaster. The children also were playing and smiling despite being homeless. Many of the children were flying kites high in the sky out of the trash they found. Many tend to paint the Haitians as victims when you read stories in the media...we are seeing more everyday a different reality of resilience, strength and even joy. One example of this happened while working on Wednesday. I was quickly greeted by the children of the village that I had been teaching hygiene and health and to my surprise they wanted to show me something they made. I then saw the area that we had met in previously for the health lessons. The children had creatively transformed it into a community space using the rubble they had found as an outline of the area. Their new joy that day was my joy too. Rubble to community spaces. Deserts to gardens.

A BIT ABOUT OUR JOBS & LIVING AREA-The place where we are living consists of a 12 room compound that is apart of a local Haiti NGO called Haiti Arise which is connected to a local church. Our group fluctuates at times but right now consists of 3 water team members, 2 latrine builders, a Team leader, 1 engineer, 2 rubble removal members, 1 logistician, 1 health and hygiene promoter. Ian continues to swing in between the positions of latrine builder in the internal displaced person camps and logistician (which coordinates supplies and food, hygiene and shelter distributions). I am working as a hygiene and health promotor within the internal displaced camps. The grant for the water and sanitation program we are working from is funded by USAID, incorporates working with handwashing, latrine use, bathing facilities, mental health (earthquake trauma care) and good hygiene practices. Everyday we go to a new camp to build latrines and promote health and hygiene activities. We usually work for a good 10-12 hours a day. But we are all functioning on disaster mode. Otherwise, we are staying busy and loving the area of Grand Goave and Leogane we are stationed at. Hopefully we will pick up more French and Creole while we are here. So here are a few glimpses of our first week.

The Beautiful Children








The Latrine Construction in the Camps


The Latrine finished product


Internally Displaced Persons Camp














Rubble to Community Space

Haiti Bound

We've been really quite busy since we've been back in the States and have been behind on sending updates. So, this is our attempt at a quick update, sorry if you have not heard about this first hand. Our plans have changed drastically over the past few days in that we have decided to go to Haiti as part of Samaritan's Purse's DART (Disaster Assistance Response Team), and have decided not to go to South Africa to work on HIV intervention projects. Instead, we have signed a 1 year contract with Samaritan's Purse and will be spending the better part of this time in Haiti. The first month of our contract will be spent doing more disaster response oriented tasks such as providing food, water and temporary shelter, to many people affected by the earthquake which occurred on January 12th, 2010. After this initial month, we will transition into a more development and re-construction-oriented team once the emergency phase begins to wind down - which certainly could take some time. The United Nations has said that this disaster rivals the Tsunami that ravaged many countries in South East Asia in 2004. 3 million people have been affected by this disaster and more than 200,000 people have died.

We are leaving for Haiti Thursday Feb. 4th and this will be our first taste of a major disaster response situation. We have many friends there already and will be spending time working and serving with old colleagues from the London-based NGO we worked at before moving back to America at the end of December. Our internet connection while we are there is unpredictable, but we will keep updates coming as we have connection. Love you all.