Hurricane Matthew Leaves Devastation in Haiti

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 

Hurricane Matthew Leaves Devastation in Haiti

ba3332d3-c1e6-4c53-8162-0c77eb4b5a02Rutland, VT – October 10, 2016. Over the past week, Hurricane Matthew has stormed through the Caribbean and southern United States, leaving behind widespread destruction. In Haiti, the storm completely demolished villages and has taken hundreds, and potentially thousands, of lives, as more deaths are reported daily.

Today, Reuters news reported Hurricane Matthew “left an estimated 1.4 million people (in Haiti) in need of humanitarian assistance, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.”

The short-term impact of this storm has already created extreme hardship among the most vulnerable residents, but the long-term impact and spread of the cholera disease is of utmost concern.

Pure Water for the World, Inc. (PWW) has been bringing safe water and hygiene solutions to communities in Haiti for almost 10 years. Using experience gained after the 2010 earthquake, last week, PWW’s local Haitian team quickly mobilized after the storm, reaching out to government agencies and other organizations to devise a collaborative plan that will meet the most immediate needs of getting families clean water and providing essential cholera-prevention education to protect families from this deadly disease.

“As families work to get their lives back in order, cholera is our primary concern. New cases are already being reported. There is a great need for safe water and education,“ states Mario Andre, Country Director, PWW-Haiti.

Introduced into the country after the 2010 earthquake, cholera is an infectious, and often fatal, disease caused by the consumption of food or water contaminated with the bacterium Vibrio cholerae. It has a short incubation period, resulting in rapid outbreaks and causes severe vomiting and diarrhea. If left untreated, patients often die from dehydration. Since the hurricane, more 60 cases of cholera, with at least 13 deaths, have already been reported in the affected areas. Many more are expected.

“We are working quickly to assess the damage areas and get clean water and safe hygiene training to families,” states Carolyn Crowley Meub, Executive Director, PWW. “We are also collaborating with other emergency organizations to increase our collective impact.”

To support PWW’s efforts to help affected Haitian children and families, you can make a donation by going to PWW’s website at www.purewaterfortheworld.org or click here.

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About Pure Water for The World:

Pure Water for the World is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization with a mission to improve the health and livelihood of children and families, living in underserved communities in Central America and the Caribbean, by providing effective tools and education to establish sustainable safe water, hygiene and sanitation solutions.

Pure Water for the World has partnered with over 200 communities, reaching more than 750,000 people in Haiti and Central America with life-changing, sustainable safe water, hygiene and sanitation solutions.

For more information, visit www.purewaterfortheworld.org.

Contact:
Carolyn Crowley Meub, Executive Director
Pure Water for the World
P.O. Box 55
Rutland, VT 05702
Phone: 802-747-0778
Fax: 802-773-8575
Email: carolyn.meub@purewaterfortheworld.org
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