Haiti medical relief: Cholera is not going away

Monday, July 18, 2011

Cholera is not going away

Real Hope for Haiti saw a small decrease in their cholera numbers about a week ago, but since then has had a sharp increase again. At 6 PM tonight they had 101 patients. Several more patients have been admitted since 6 PM. This is the highest number they've ever had. Remember that their cholera house is officially supposed to hold 25 people. Please read Licia's most recent post (Monday Update) for more details about the really difficult situations and decisions they're facing right now.

Real Hope for Haiti needs monetary donations. They need money so they can pay salaries for the dozens of workers at the cholera house, buy supplies (such as bleach, garbage bags, toilet paper, soap, batteries, etc), buy diesel so their vehicles can travel into Port au Prince to buy supplies and to pick up donated medications and supplies (sometimes every day), and pay for all of the expected and unexpected expenses that come up when you're running a cholera treatment center 24/7 that is providing care free of charge. Please consider donating to Real Hope for Haiti--go here and click on the "donate/paypal" button on the right upper side.

I just sent a lot of cholera medications to Real Hope for Haiti. You can read about the medications and see pictures here. Medications are just a small piece of running a cholera treatment center, but they are an important piece. I/we need to send more. I know that I've been asking for a lot of donations over the past 9 months (since the cholera outbreak started). I'm asking again because this need is not going away. This is a tangible way to directly impact the lives of people--mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers, sons, daughters--who are suffering from a disease that tends to afflict people who have already suffered much in their lives.

Please consider donating for medications. The way to donate hasn't changed. I'm still collecting donations through Haiti Mission Project, a 501(c)(3) based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. All donations are tax deductible and donations receipts are provided at the end of the year. Go here and click on the 2nd yellow "Donate" button to donate funds by Paypal. If you donate by check, please specify that your donation is for cholera medications.

Thank you in advance.
Please e-mail me with any questions: jenniferhalverson09 AT gmail DOT com.

0 comments:

Post a Comment

what I'm doing

I first traveled to Haiti in 1998. For the next 10 years, I visited Haiti once or twice a year, working with various organizations but mainly with Providence Ministries. I finished pediatric residency in June 2007 and spent 9 months volunteering as a pediatrician in Haiti from Sept 2007 through May 2008, then started fellowship in pediatric emergency medicine. I finished fellowship in mid-2011 then started an attending job. My state-side home is in Minnesota.

While in Haiti in 2007-08, I worked at a medical clinic in La Digue, a small village about 30 miles north of Port au Prince. We saw children with conditions common in the developing world, such as malnutrition, malaria and parasites, as well as conditions common in children all over the world, like respiratory and gastrointestinal infections.

Five days after the earthquake in January 2010 I joined a medical relief team at Heartline Field Hospital in Port au Prince. I initially planned to stay 6 weeks but ended up staying for about 5 months total throughout the year, traveling back and forth multiple times in 2010 while running the field hospital. I have had the privilege of providing medical care for some of the strongest, bravest people I've ever met.

In 2011 and beyond my medical work in Haiti has continued, first by responding to the cholera epidemic, then in other areas as needs have arisen. I continue to work with several different organizations in Haiti including Heartline Ministries. I spent over 4 months in Haiti in 2011 and I'm looking forward to several more months in-country coming up in 2012.