Haitian President Michel Martelly on Friday backed off a suggestion from an interview a day earlier that he might be open to a pardon for former dictator Jean-Claude Duvalier. He said he meant only that he wanted an end to the internal conflict that has long afflicted his country.
A U.S. man who helped build a trauma center in Haiti after January 2010's devastating earthquake was treated at that hospital after being critically wounded during a robbery in the capital of Port-au-Prince, his wife and doctors said Friday.
Stark assessment of Cholera situation in Haiti - “Cholera Prevention Kits” needed!
Although easily treated, cholera has a short incubation period and causes acute diarrhea that can lead to severe dehydration and death in a matter of hours. The outbreak erupted in the Artibonite River valley in central Haiti in mid-October where three HFHC schools are located (Mirebalais, Dubuisson, and Pageste). Fifteen HFHC-sponsored children contacted symptoms of cholera and have been successfully treated. HFHC personnel visited the Artibonite River Valley on October 22 and November 2 and brought several weeks of uncontaminated food supplies and bottled water for those in the affected areas.
The cases initially seemed to have been contained. However Hurricane Tomas last week aggravated the situation as it dumped heavy rains causing the Artibonite River to flood. The toll from the chronic diarrheal disease has since soared to 643 dead and just under 10,000 people being treated in hospital. Some 115 cases and a first death have been confirmed in Port-au-Prince. Most of the estimated 1.3 million Haitians living in refugee camps are in tent cities around the capital and water-borne cholera could spread easily in the unsanitary conditions where supplies are shared for cooking and washing.
Hope for Haiti's Children(HFHC) is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization founded in 1995 to educate and care for the impoverished children in Haiti. We are meeting their needs through an education sponsorship program, health care services, orphan care, and crisis relief efforts.
HFHC is changing the lives of impoverished children, one child at a time. This change is realized by restoring hope, by giving dignity through education, and by daily demonstrations of God’s loving compassion. We hope the time you invest in learning about this ministry will touch your heart and move you to action.
