In Port-au-Prince, Dalebrun and our team of plumbers go around our circuit of neighborhoods to check the chlorinator installations and supply water boards with chlorine tablets; this month the team also brought with them boxes of de-worming albendazole pills.
Worms are a plague in Haiti; virtually all children have worms in their stomach, taking up to 20% of their nutrients and causing anemia, vitamin deficiencies, a weak immune system, lethargy, and poor cognitive development. Intestinal worms magnify the impact of chronic diarrhea from bad water and can make the difference between life and death for children.
Today our team in Haiti has distributed more than 65,000 albendazole pills in neighborhoods, schools, churches, hospitals, and orphanages. “Since my daughter has taken the Abendazole pill her health has greatly improved: no screams or excessive water consumption in the night, no teeth grinding. Today our child is not ‘fat’ but she has a normal weight. Her appetite is back to normal. Everybody at home is happy!” says Hilda Hilaire Esther, mother of two.