By Mandy Moore
Every child deserves to have fresh drinking water. But in countries like Haiti families often have no choice but to drink from contaminated sources.
That’s why Simone still has a lot of work to do.
As she rushes off to another home visit, she says, “I had three children, but two of them died during childbirth. When Mike was young, he was sick a lot with diarrhea. Thankfully, it wasn’t severe. Back then, I didn’t know how to prevent the disease.”
Simone is a PSI-trained health worker in Haiti. She works in rural Maissade, the epicenter of Haiti’s most recent cholera outbreak. Health workers like her are the only medical care this community has.
You can make a tax-deductible donation to fund the efforts of PSI-trained health workers like Simone Flavie. For a short time, your donation will be matched through a generous $200,000 challenge gift from PSI’s board of directors.
Simone strides up to Maudline Rubin’s tiny wood planked home. Off-white embroidered drapes provide a distinct contrast to the dirt front porch Maudline stands on. A fence of cactus rings the young mother’s home. Outside clothes lay drying in the sun — most of it belonging to Maudline’s three-year old daughter Rosberline.
Simone asks Maudline some questions. “What does it mean when a child has diarrhea?” Maudline is silent. Simone says, “Water can have parasites. And even mangoes and bananas that you wash with the water can give a child diarrhea.”
Simone tells Maudline about a PSI product called Dlo Lavi, a purification tablet that treats water safely and cheaply in just 30 minutes. She gives Maudline tablets and teaches her how to use them and where to buy more for only pennies a day.
Simone knows her work can mean the difference between life and death for a child — and she takes it seriously.
She says, “I work for PSI because we are doing a favor for my community.” Then she rushes off to visit her next family.
If you care about children, please join me and invest in community health workers like Simone Flavie. For a short time, your donation will go twice as far through this generous challenge match.
Photo: Simon Flavie Joseph, an Inter Personal Communicator with PSI , discusses good hygiene practices with Maudline Rubin, her daughter Roseberlin Gernivil and nephew, Gesly Benadine. (Credit: David Rochkind)