Local groups bolster Haiti relief

Elsa Paula and her husband, Julio, thought they knew how bad conditions in a poor country could be when Charleston-based Water Missions International sent them to Haiti in August 2009. The new co- directors for the organization's Haitian effort found out they were wrong.

Among the many challenges they face in Haiti, the biggest is helping people make the connection between drinking contaminated water and being sick, Elsa Paula said.

Thirsty people who don't make that connection drink whatever water is available, she said. In Haiti, that is usually bad enough to make you sick.

Even before the magnitude 7.0 earthquake devastated the Port-au-Prince area one year ago today, Water Missions was committed to helping reduce water-borne illnesses among Haitians.

Those include cholera, an intestinal infection caused by drinking water or eating food contaminated by the waste of someone who has the disease.

It is a common danger after a disaster.

Haiti's cholera outbreak was confirmed late in October, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said. The CDC also said about one in 20 infected people have a severe case of the disease.

Rapid loss of fluids caused by the illness leads to dehydration and shock. Without treatment, a person with cholera can die within hours.

Several Lowcountry groups have aided Haitians since the earthquake that killed 230,000 people and left 1.3 million homeless, and they are now refocusing on long-term development projects, but health issues are a high priority.

In addition to Water Missions International, St. Peter's Church in Mount Pleasant, Seacoast Church's Hope Epidemic mission and the Lowcountry Red Cross also have been part of the effort.

Water Missions International, a Christian engineering organization, installed 156 water treatment systems in emergency camps in Haiti and provided safe drinking water to 250,000 Haitians in the past year, Elsa Paula said.

About 30 of those systems, which include chlorinators, chlorine and safety equipment, now are serving in permanent communities. Each system can supply water for communities of up to 3,000 comfortably and last up to 20 years with minor repairs.

Water Missions is shifting from disaster mode to training community leaders how to teach residents on proper water storage, how to spot waterborne diseases and how to adopt good hygiene practices.

The organization will measure progress by reductions in occurrences of health conditions that indicate a waterborne disease.

St. Peter's Church

A team of 12 from the Anglican parish in Mount Pleasant has been helping to build the Lespwa Ti Moun, a medical clinic in Haiti, said Millie Powell, its director of missions. Its pastor, Bishop Thomas Johnston, used to live in Haiti and traveled there two days after the earthquake to assess ways to work with established partners.

The project, begun last June, is now at the roofing stage, Powell said. The facility will include a nutrition program for children.

The church also is helping with plans to rebuild an Episcopal high school, the College of St. Pierre. Its building collapsed during the earthquake, killing about 200 of its 500 faculty and students.

"Our main focus is to get this school back up and running bigger and better," Powell said. The goal is to prepare students to attend colleges in other countries who then return to help Haiti.

Organizers want to listen to what educators in Haiti as well as in the United States have to say about their project, but it is the Haitians who know what will work in their country, Powell said.

One idea is to institute a residential program at the school so that students, who now go home to crime-ridden areas, can have an environment conducive to studying.

"There is change happening. It's just going to take a long time," Powell said.

Seacoast Church

The month before the earthquake rocked Haiti, the Hope Epidemic mission decided it wanted to help provide clean water around the world, said Jason Surratt, missions pastor.

"We sent nine teams in total," Surratt said. Teams from Seacoast campuses, including ones from Charleston, helped remove rubble and rebuild. They rebuilt churches, schools and orphanages. Now the focus is on medicine and health.

"We sent a couple of medical teams and they were working with people with trauma from the earthquake as well as those with lacerations and breaks," Surratt said. "Soon after that, we sent a team of occupational therapists to help with rehab and with amputees. We actually have a medical team there now helping with the cholera outbreak."

Like other organizations, Seacoast sees an opportunity to help Haiti over the long term.

"We are moving from relief work to sustainable community development," Surratt said.

This year, in addition to working with Water Missions to provide safe drinking water, it will focus on education, micro financing to help communities earn a living, medical needs and spiritual development.

That all will be done through a partnership with The 410 Bridge (a network of churches across the country) and Samaritan's Purse, Franklin Graham's organization.

American Red Cross

The Carolina Lowcountry chapter raised $765,137 for earthquake relief, which was disbursed as part of the Red Cross effort in Haiti, said Nancy Olson, the local marketing and communications manager.

Nationally, the Red Cross collected a total of $479 million and has spent $245 million, it said in a report on this past year on Haiti.

The money was spent on emergency shelters, food, water, medical treatment and relief supplies.

This year, the remaining funds will be used to support efforts to repair damaged homes and build transitional homes, the report said.