A student at SOS Children's Villages - Santo, in Haiti, demonstrates how to prevent the spread of waterborne diseases like cholera by thoroughly washing hands with clean water.

Cholera is spread by bacteria in dirty water and food.  If left untreated, people can die from it within two to four days. More than 3,700 Haitians have contracted cholera to date; of them, 284 have died, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). WHO is working to prevent cholera from spreading beyond Artibonite, the northern region of the country, according to Reuters. South of that area lies the capital Port-au-Prince, where more than a million people left homeless by the earthquake live in tent cities.

Washing hands properly and drinking only treated water can prevent cholera. People in Haiti hadn’t seen the scourge in many decades, say observers, so did not necessarily recognize what it was until it was too late for treatment.

The presence of a large number of medical and aid workers, in Haiti to help post-quake recovery, is helping to control cholera’s spread through education and treatment. SOS Children’s Villages is doing its part.

Safety through Education

Students at the SOS Hermann Gmeiner School in Santo, Haiti, line up to a watch hand-washing demonstration.

Standing on the building steps, Myrtil used a microphone to get the children’s attention as they lined up below. He explained what cholera is and its symptoms of fever, diarrhoea, and vomiting. He described how drinking water can become contaminated, especially when people are living without the benefit of flush toilets and a working sewage system. The risks are greater during the rainy season (which is now), he told them, when dirty water can easily drain into the drinking supply.

Myrtil advised his pupils to wash their hands as often as possible, and absolutely before every meal and after using latrines and toilets. He also told them to treat all their drinking water with chlorine or a soluble purifier and to wait 20 minutes before drinking it. 

The strength of his message, said the school head, is its multiplier effect. The children will go home and tell their parents what they have seen. The adults, in turn, will listen and tell others. SOS teachers will continue to reinforce the message as long as the cholera alert remains in effect. 

SOS will never desert Haiti’s children. That’s why, months after the terrible January quake, we are still doing everything possible to give earthquake victims warm homes, loving SOS mothers, full stomachs, and education.