Nonprofit humanitarian aid agency CARE has sent disaster response teams to Haiti to teach earthquake survivors how to purify water polluted in the wake of Tuesday’s earthquake.
Ruptured water lines in Haitian capital Port-au-Prince, which lacks a sewer infrastructure, have made the spread of water-borne disease highly likely. All of the city’s residents will need clean and safe water, but pregnant women, new mothers and small children are particularly at risk. There are approximately 37,000 pregnant women in the disaster zone.
Dr. Franck Geneus, coordinator of CARE’s health program in Haiti, explains that the lack of nourishment for survivors may affect safety for infants. "We are concerned that women may stop breastfeeding because they do not have enough food or water themselves," says Geneus. "That poses a huge risk to newborns."
Staffers like Dr. Geneus are distributing 600,000 Pur water-purification packets in Port-au-Prince, giving Haitian women a crash course in their use. By infusing buckets of water with Pur powder and straining out the resulting solids, brown, undrinkable water turns clear. Each packet can purify nearly three gallons of water, yielding a four-day water supply for one person.
"CARE staff train local volunteers, so they can teach others and distribute the packets according to a careful inventory of families at the site," Geneus says. "It’s the quickest way to reach the most people."
Because many residents of Port-au-Prince lack even a sanitary container, CARE will distribute buckets containing hygiene kits, says Sophie Perez, CARE’s country director in Haiti.
CARE has maintained a presence in Haiti since 1954. It has launched a $10 million appeal for a three-year emergency relief and recovery program for the population struck by the earthquake.
