ARTICLE - OPERATION BLESSING - WATER

CHOLERA DEATHS IN HAITI MAGNIFY NEED FOR CLEAN WATER
(CBN.com)

CBN's Operation Blessing International is working to disinfect drinking water in Haiti after fears of a possible cholera outbreak.

Nearly 500 people have been admitted to the hospital in the last 24 hours in St. Marc, Haiti, with abdominal pains and other symptoms of the sickness. At least 18 people have died.

Cholera is caused by ingesting contaminated food and water, and leads to stomach illness and severe dehydration. The infection can spread quickly, especially following natural disasters, when sanitation is difficult to control.

Operation Blessing International Disaster Relief Director David Darg is now leading an effort to supply up to 10,000 gallons of clean drinking water each day to St. Marc and surrounding areas.
Stay with CBNNews.com for more coverage of Operation Blessing International efforts in Haiti.

In addition to a purification plant, Operation Blessing will use its new Sanilec-6 water purification devises to supply enough solution to purify another 120,000 gallons of water on site.

"The lack of safe drinking water was a problem in Haiti even before the earthquake," explained Operation Blessing International president Bill Horan. "One of the main reasons we came here last year was because none of the hospitals had running potable water systems. Doctors and patients were actually bringing their own water with them to the hospital."

Operation Blessing partnered with the water treatment company Severn Trent Services to help combat Haiti's water contamination issues.

The Charity has been actively providing aid to Haiti since the country was devastated by a 7.0 magnitude earthquake.

More than 30 water purification plants have been installed throughout Port-au-Prince. Operation Blessing has also provided nearly 2.5 million pounds of food, supplies and medication.