An E-mail from Sean Penn

Dear Friend,

Haiti is now facing its worst health crisis since the earthquake — the cholera epidemic that has already claimed over 250 lives, with another 3,000 cases confirmed by the Ministry of Health (MOH).

This fast spreading cholera outbreak—the first to hit Haiti in 50 years – has reached Port-Au-Prince, and J/P has already stepped to the forefront of the action. We are currently fighting a two front battle of treatment and prevention. We’ve deployed teams and medical supplies to the worst hit areas in the North, while also taking extensive precautions in Petionville camp, which we manage.

Petionville is still initially cholera free. J/P HRO’s proactive measures include building an isolation ward separate from our hospital with a capacity for 100 patients and stocking it with the fluids and medical supplies needed for treatment. We’ve also installed additional handwashing stations in camp, and mounted massive education campaigns about hygiene & sanitation not only in the camp but also the surrounding communities.

This outbreak has the potential to wreck this already devastated country, but if we act quickly, we can make a tremendous difference.   That’s why I’m writing to you to request your immediate help.

Here’s what you can do:

1.     Make a contribution to J/P HRO. No matter how much you can afford to give, every dollar of your contribution goes directly to helping the people of Haiti.

2.     Start fundraising for J/P HRO. Help bring your friends and family into the fight against the cholera outbreak in Haiti by setting up your personal fundraising page and asking them to contribute.

In addition, if you work in the medical community, you can help by:

1.     Donating Supplies: Click here for a list of medical supplies we urgently need to fight the cholera outbreak.

2.     Becoming a Medical Volunteer: All sorts of licensed medical personnel are needed in Haiti, including pharmacists. Unfortunately we cannot take EMT’s, medical students or under 3rd year resident MD’s. This work is first and foremost about saving lives, not a learning experience, so we are looking for people who can manage these roles well in a high stress emergency environment.

Please also be sure to forward this email on to friends, family members or colleagues who may be able to help financially or by volunteering.

We are dependent upon our incredible supporters to achieve what we do. Now, we face our greatest crisis since the earthquake. Please, do what you can today to help us fight this dangerous outbreak of cholera in Haiti.

Thank you for everything you do.

Sean Penn
CEO, J/P HRO

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