Wash their Hands, Save Their Lives!

[LakesRegionSpirit]

FYI: If you can attend, please do.

LACONIA, NH—The people of Haiti are dying for a lot of reasons. The earthquake in January and Hurricane Tomas in November has dealt an already struggling country a severe blow. Now, Cholera threatens and more people are dying simply because they have no soap and water to wash their hands.

There are many reasons to be discouraged by world events and believe that you can do nothing to help. But, as fellow humans, how can we accept the fact that people, anywhere, are dying simply because they can not wash their hands?

This event has pushed me over the edge and I need to do something about it. I need your help.

I am announcing a new challenge to the Lakes Region: Wash Their Hands, Save Their Lives.

It's pretty simple. I am asking for help in collecting soap on Saturday, November 20, purchased by our fellow residents, to send to Haiti.

There is an organizational meeting tonight, Thursday, November 18, at 6 pm in the Busiel Mill's Community Room, located at One Mill Plaza (adjacent to City Hall) in downtown Laconia. One Mill Plaza is the middle brick structure between the Belknap Mill and Laconia City Hall.

I am asking each of you to send a representative of your business, civic organization, church group, school and youth club to this meeting and be prepared to donate your time on Saturday, November 20 to the cause.

I firmly believe that we can pull together to send collection crews to every Hannafords, Shaw's and Market Basket in the Lakes Region to collect soap.

We need local businesses to provide trucking; a warehouse for storage and help and materials to palletize and shrink wrap the soap.

Leave all the reasons why this can't work behind and bring the one reason why it will work, you!

Let's fill a cargo plane!

Thank you. Kevin Sperl, Gilford. Feel free to contact me via email: kjsperl@lakesregionspirit.com.

[LakesRegionSpirit]

Please visit http://www.lakesregionspirit.com/soapforhaiti for more information. We are collecting soap and money to buy soap. You may drop off at one of the locations listed on the site, donate an item for auction, send money to our account at Laconia Savings Bank or join a crew on Black Friday to help us collect soap. We, and Haiti ,need your help. Thank you!

[baygo]

A wonderful thought for a worthy and urgent cause however there may be a few obstacles yet to address. be aware that there are millions of dollars worth of medicine and goods held up by politics and sitting in limbo in Haitian ports. Bush and Clinton raise $54 million of which only $4 million has actually been spent to address the the needs of the victims. It'd be nice if some of the soap was used by politicians.

[LakesRegionSpirit]

Baygo, our website details the two partners we are using to get soap to Haiti. Both are IN COUNTRY and have their OWN distribution systems. I even have a letter from Clean the World posted in the news section of our site.

Many think this is a reason to do nothing. Greg Mortenson, although I am in no way comparing our efforts to his, has built schools in places where governments wage wars.

We CAN do this and ARE. Please consider helping.

As human beings, not as Democrats, Republicans or Independents or Tea Party, can stand by and watch people die, simply because they cannot wash their hands,can we? I refuse to.

[SAMIAM]

Always glad to help out a good cause, but I'm concerned about where all the money has gone that has been already raised. I understand that several billion was donated to earthquake relief in the USA alone and people are still living under tarps. Not much has gone for infastructure.....it's all been spent on food, water, clothing, sanitation, traps and other needs. Two billion dollars would build a modest home for everyone in Port au-Prince that has been displaced.

[LakesRegionSpirit]

..I can collect soap.

If I think about how difficult the world situation is, I too would hide in the corner. I need to put blinders on and collect soap. Please help, these people are dying......

[NoBozo]

SOAP is Good...BUT.. Cholera is ingested from drinking the Local Water. Soap is Good for washing your hands but that is the least of their problems.

THE PROBLEM is the Polluted water. Just Sayin. NB

[fatlazyless]

One gallon of Shurfine bleach which is diluted chlorine costs 1.99 at Heath's super market, so's how about we contribute some bottled liquid bleach, since one gallon of bleach could be used to kill the diarrhea bacteria in individual drinking/cooking water. One ounce of Shurfine el cheapo bleach goes a long way, and is a very potent purifier.

Anyone know what's the recommended dose of household bleach like this to be stirred into one gallon of water for cooking/drinking? It's a very small amount but do not know how much?

[LakesRegionSpirit]

No Bozo:
Please go to our website and read the "news" menu item. Doctors around the world and orgs such as the World Health Org are QUOTED as saying that washing hands with soap prevents the SPREAD of Cholera.

Do a simple Google on cholera Haiti washing hands and read the thousands of references.

FLS:

I can't ship gallons of liguids, I can ship SOAP. Please go to the Clean The World web site and read what they say about soap.

Please people, washing hands with soap is a SIMPLE, CHEAP effort we can support. Why make it so difficult?

If I had a bar of soap for every naysayer, I would be well on my way.

[NoBozo]

During our Westward Migration in this country..Wagon Trains.. 1850-1880. The trains went west every summer and it soon became routine that they would travel ..15-20 miles a day. It wasn't long before they found the "best" places along the river to camp for the night, and successive trains ALL stopped at those same places. It was like a campground, where every few nights another train would camp there.

After awhile, the secret places away from each camp where you could privately...Satisfy the Call of Nature....came into common use. If those places were near the river, ...eventually the river..where they got their drinking water, became poluted.....ECOLI. The river in question was usually the very slow moving Platte River. Never more than a few inches deep.

There were stories where a perfectly healthy person would wake up in the morning in perfect health. Then..at sunset the same day...they were underground. The train would depart the next morning..passing over the grave of the deceased..to prevent the Indians from detecting what had transpired. Cholera. Invented by humans..Transmitted in polluted water. NB

LRS: I understand your quest and I wish you well.

[LakesRegionSpirit]

OKkay, NoBozo, you sit and pass judgment, I'll do what I can to help humanity.

READ the references..

[LakesRegionSpirit]

From the International Rescue Committee:
“Meanwhile, our education team was busy making sure that everyone in the camps was informed about how they could help prevent the spread of cholera, passing out materials about the importance of washing their hands with soap, eating only cooked foods and drinking only treated water.”

From All Hands Volunteer in Haiti, Andrew Kerr:
"People are a little bit afraid," Kerr said. "But cholera is highly preventable, through proper hand-washing and sanitation. And that's what we're trying to help people do."

From UNICEF's Silvia Luciani:
“Washing hands with soap or ash is especially important before eating, before handling foods and after using the toilet”, she said. “Washing hands at these critical moments can reduce by 50% child morbidity, and cut down substantially the current cholera cases.”

From the World Health Organization:
Wash hands with soap and water several times in the day, especially:After defecating , Before eating , Before preparing food , Before touching and taking care of infants , After touching a sick person , When coming back home from the street , After touching something that was already touched by someone else such as phone, money, etc , After taking care of a person suffering from diarrhea and vomiting

[ApS]

Originally Posted by NoBozo

LRS: I understand your quest and I wish you well.

It's appearing the problem began with "the help":

"...the base's septic tanks are built to U.S. Environmental Protection Agency standards..."

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20101120/...ins_of_cholera

[RI Swamp Yankee]

The need in Haiti and other places suffering from disasters is great and it is often frustrating to see aid through government channels stalled by "red tape" and not reach it's intended targets in a timely manner. I also know from my own community that private groups are able to bypass a lot of that "red tape" and transport needed goods and services into places that need it. Soap is one of many needs and when added to other relief efforts can go a long way in reducing the suffering these people endure everyday. Soap may seem like a trivial thing but, as I said, when added to other private efforts CAN make a difference.

I commend LakesRegionSpirit for being part of the larger effort to reduce the suffering of other humans that are going through tribulations we have never experienced. I do believe the effort will make a difference.

[LakesRegionSpirit]

On Black Friday a group of our volunteers collected 500 bars of soap and $60 in cash donations. We have collected over $400 in cash donations so far. With that money, we are approaching the 2,000 bar mark.

We also have signed up Common Man, Church Landing, Mill Falls, etc and, hopefully, other lodging facilities to collect their recycled soap.

The kindness of our fellow residents is appreciated and I thank you on behalf of our group.

[LakesRegionSpirit]

Just to let this forum know about the generosity of Lakes Region residents. To date, we have collected 6,174 bars of soap and $659.68 in cash donations.

We are partnering with Matt Brown, Concord-based owner of Penacook School Karate, who has collected 3,500 bars so far.

Thank you Lakes Region and Happy Holidays to all.

[Lucky1]

Originally Posted by LakesRegionSpirit

Just to let this forum know about the generosity of Lakes Region residents. To date, we have collected 6,174 bars of soap and $659.68 in cash donations.

We are partnering with Matt Brown, Concord-based owner of Penacook School Karate, who has collected 3,500 bars so far.

Thank you Lakes Region and Happy Holidays to all.

It is amazing how many people say that something cannot be done or won't help etc when others pitch right in and get going on helping by DOING SOMETHING!!! Many thanks for all of your efforts. You are a good role model. I hope that you are successful in saving many lives and that there is a special place for people like you in the world!!

[LakesRegionSpirit]

Efforts like this do not succeed without the help of many and the generosity of residents. Your comments apply to all that helped and I thank you for them. LRS