CARE’s hygiene promotion in Grande Anse relies on an extensive network of community volunteers
It is noon in Fond Icaques, and the sun throws a bright, almost white light on the trees and houses in this community of Grande Anse, in the South of Haiti. CARE staff Judson Antoine has travelled to a community center on the side of the road and is standing in a room with chairs set up to form a circle. On a table next to him, boxes of megaphones and backpacks are piled up. Judson is waiting for the 22 community volunteers who support CARE’s hygiene promotion and cholera prevention activities. In total, CARE has a network of 265 community volunteers in the Department of Grande Anse, most of them having worked in CARE’s HIV/AIDS prevention programs before cholera broke out.
The group of Fond Icaques has a clear agenda for the day: They need to determine their work plan for next month and discuss an upcoming distribution of hygiene kits. All volunteers submit weekly reports in which they indicate how many people they have reached and any observations they want to share. CARE tries to encourage a mixture of women and men, elderly and young members. It is a little harder for women to participate since they are mostly in charge of the household and cannot easily leave their children alone while doing community mobilization. But with cholera being a constant threat to families’ health, many community members are willing to sacrifice time and efforts to fight against the epidemic.
“Atansyon pa kapon” – prevention is the best option
In the middle of the group sits an elderly man who radiates with energy. The wrinkles on his face only add to this impression when he raises his voice to talk to his fellow volunteers. It might be a little rude to ask someone for his age, but Espérance Lazar is proud to give it away: “I am 79 years old, and I have been active in my community since I was a young man.” He was head of the community committee, took part in alphabetization campaigns, but also worked in agricultural monitoring and finally as a coffee planter. And now, his attention has turned to cholera. “I like to go from door to door and talk to people. Many of them have learned a lot, for example how to properly wash their hands and how to use chlorine products”, he says. Despite his age, Espérance enjoys going the distance, literally. He walks for hours on foot to reach the most isolated areas and talk to people. And his work carries fruits. “People respect hygiene rules better than before”, affirms Espérance. “I have 9 kids and…”, he hesitates and needs to count first. “13 grandchildren. As a community volunteer, I have also learned a lot to help protect my own family.” He finishes with a Creole saying: “Atansyon pa kapon” – prevention is the best option.
As the meeting continues, the group discusses key questions. One of them revolves around vulnerability. Planning to distribute a total of 20,000 hygiene kits containing buckets, aquatabs, soap and other items, CARE draws from the volunteers’ knowledge of their communities to determine which families are most vulnerable. But what are the criteria? CARE staff Judson leads the lively discussion and patiently replies to all questions. In a region this poor and isolated, it is indeed hard to determine those most in need. And even the volunteers themselves are generally not much better off than their neighbors. But to support their dedication and hard work, CARE provides them with backpacks and megaphones, useful equipment for their busy days on the move. At the end of the meeting, Espérance Lazar is on the move again. He walks down the hill as if he was 29, not 79; backpack and microphone in hand, off to another family in Fond Icaques that might not have heard of cholera yet.