When cholera started spreading in Haiti, International Ministries missionary Steve James reached out to his father’s home church.  Located in Collegeville, PA, the Lower Providence Baptist Church has a long history of members who were American Baptist missionaries, including Lloyd and Eileen James who served in Burma.  Lloyd went to choir practice that night and mentioned his conversation with his son Steve who is a physician in northern Haiti, with his wife Nancy. 

 

Steve asked if Lower Providence could help by sending Oral Rehydration Salt (ORS) packets to Haiti.  If he could get those to his patients during the first crucial 12 – 18 hours, they would have a much greater chance of survival.  Cholera causes severe diarrhea and vomiting in the first 12- 18 hours.  This rapid loss of fluids leads to dehydration and shock.  Without treatment, death can occur in mere hours. 

 

The members of Lower Providence put out the word of an urgent need for a work party to assemble ORS packets for Haiti.  Church member, Judy Flores calculated the amount of ingredients they would need to assemble the packets and put out a sign up sheet so people could donate the necessary supplies. 

 

Each ORS packet contains 1 teaspoon low sodium salt, 8 teaspoons table sugar, and a straw put in a 1 pint Ziploc baggie.  Regular table salt can also be used, but low sodium salt is preferred for its potassium content, which is a nutrient lost with severe diarrhea. 

 

Patients add a 1 liter bottle of water to the baggie, zip it shut and shake the contents to mix.  Then using the straw supplied by the church, they drink the solution every time they have a bout of diarrhea.

 

The church visited The Rehydration Project at www.rehydrate.org where they were able to print out flyers to include in the ORS packets that had graphics and instructions in Creole.  The church work party learned that a child dying of dehydration is a global problem that could be easily prevented with the simple home-made remedy found in the ORS packet. 

 

By the weekend, the work party had packed their first box of 100 ORS packets.  The church has since sent off several more boxes totaling around 500 packets.  Steve’s brother David provided written instructions on how to pack and address the boxes so they wouldn’t be held up in customs. 

Lower Providence Baptist Church plans to make more packets, as the cholera epidemic is moving inland, and there's a continuing need for ORS in Haiti.  They are staying in touch with Steve and Nancy James, who have expressed a need for disposable gloves and small, hotel sized bars of soap.  The church will be sending those supplies, along with money to cover the cost for shipping them on Agape flights to other parts of Haiti.  That way their gifts will not be a financial burden to the James.