Thriving Villages International: Variety International Newsletter

This just came out from Variety International. I'm sorry if not all the links work, but they did such a nice job! They remain a great encouragement to me and a huge support for the people of Pestel.
This newsletter goes worldwide. England, Australia, Israel, Mexico, Canada, Ireland, and so forth.

We can thank God for this opportunity, and pray that God might move in people's hearts. The health projects in Pestel are leading off a new effort by Variety to reach very under-served areas (such as Pestel). Hopefully the visibility of our undertakings in Haiti through media such as this newsletter can benefit that important effort.

Also, please be in prayer about an upcoming lunch I'll be having with an executive of a large engineering firm. I'm not sure where the conversation will go, exactly, but I'm glad for the chance to sit down with him. I suspect I will get some really good advice from someone who has a tremendous wealth of international wisdom and experience. I believe that he is, among other roles, on a planning team for USAID-Haiti.

Ben

PS: USAID is the United States' foreign assistance program.

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Variety International <evariety@varietyinternational.org>
To: nfredrick@psu.edu
Date: Thu, 22 Jul 2010 17:41:00 -0400 (EDT)
Subject: Variety International Newsletter - Haiti Supplement

Haiti Supplement

July, 2010

Haiti - Little girl receives medical attention

Greetings!

As mentioned in our official July newsletter, we have more information to share about our bigger picture foray into Haiti. We're excited to present the initial work being done in Haiti in this supplemental edition.

Sincerely,

Michael Huffman

Director of Development & Communications
Variety International

Variety International - Making a Difference in Haiti

In 2009, Variety International commenced creation of the Variety International Children's Fund to expand our reach to serve those in need in areas where Variety does not have an established Tent. Our mission was to develop an expanded Variety program to reach where our normal strategy to raise funds, establish a network, and find those in need of help to support is not sustainable in a particular area. Haiti was selected as our first project. The financial support and partnership of Variety International was coupled with the expertise from Penn State Global Health Center to produce excellent results.

Dr. Fredrick training health workers Our foray into Haiti, the impoverished mountainous area of Pestel to be exact, positioned us to quickly respond at the time of the earthquake. The earthquake in Haiti served to magnify already staggering needs, and cemented our commitment to help there. In 2010 alone we have already reached 12,000 children and anticipate reaching over 20,000. We are already off to a promising start.

© Health Education. We are improving nutritional practices through community-based education. 14 local health workers have been retained and trained to educate villages about Vitamin A and iron-rich foods, as well as basic sanitation.

Haiti - Meds / Eval Form © Vitamin A Distribution. Health workers are providing Vitamin A, an important medication that has been shown in this setting to dramatically reduce death, and eliminate blindness and visual blurring from Vitamin A deficiency. Death from measles is reduced by 50% just by taking Vitamin A capsules every 6 months. In a rural area such as Pestel where immunizations are currently non-existent, this Vitamin is going to save lives.

© Anti-Parasitic Campaign. We are implementing an anti-parasite campaign covering all children from 6 months to 10 years of age to improve nutritional impact. The health workers are providing an anti-parasite medication called Albendazole to the children, to prevent newly hatched insect larvae (worms) from growing or multiplying in the body. Worms can consume up to 25% of a child's nutrition and with an abundance of malnutrition, this treatment is helping to at least reduce this epidemic.

Dr. Fredrick helps children in Haiti © Investigative Health Research. The 14 health workers and 2 managers have been trained to collect essential health data. Worker evaluation forms, data collection forms, and inventory forms have been developed for the project. Height, weight, and levels of anemia are being collected on children throughout Pestel, Haiti in addition to health conditions, educational status, and water and sanitation conditions for baselines moving forward as well as insight into future needs.

© Fighting Starvation. In June 2010 we began the pilot program "Medika Mamba", a highly enriched food to treat severe malnutrition. Early reports indicate that in the worst areas of Pestel 1 in every 4 children has moderate to severe malnutrition. We are in discussion with Kiwanis International and Meds & Food for Kids to develop an agricultural-nutrition program to eliminate malnutrition.

© Exciting Collaborations. We are approaching new partners to develop diversified collaborations. 50,000 free doses of Vitamin A and Albendazole EACH were received from Vitamin Angels. Approximately $2000 worth of additional supplies were received from companies as a result of the collaboration between Variety International and Penn State's Global Health Center.

Haitian parents are already thrilled with the campaign because they are finding that the medication is killing worms in their children's intestines! As a result of this immediate and evident change in the children, the program is gaining momentum and the parents are advocating for the program. Through pre-treatment and post-treatment measurements, we will be able to evaluate how effective this campaign truly is at improvingnutrition, growth and energy and reducing anemia!

In This Issue

Making A Difference in Haiti

In Haiti - Relevant Statistics

2010 Child Health Campaign

In Haiti:

· One third of newborn babies are born underweight.

· Acute under-nutrition among children under 5 is 9%;
Chronic under-nutrition is 24%.

· 50% of pregnant women and two thirds of children under 5 are affected by anemia.

· 72 % of children aged 6-12 in rural areas suffer from iodine deficiency.

· 32 % of school-age children are infected by intestinal parasites.

· Almost 30,000 babies suffer mental deficiencies because their mothers suffered from iodine deficiency during pregnancy.

· One in eight Haitian children will not make it past their 5th birthday.

2010 Child Health Campaign - Year 1

Phase I (March-May)

· Vitamin A, Anti-parasitic medication, Biometrics

Phase II (June-September)

· Household Surveys

· Pilot "Medika Mamba"

Phase III (October-December)

· Repeat Phase I

THE AMAZING PARTUpcoming Events

The 2010 project will average a cost of just $3 per child reached. And the return on this investment will be seen within a year, if not sooner -- the beauty of the simplicity of what a difference we can make.

There is a great amount of work to be done, but as usual, Variety is committed to the cause. Through careful planning, persistence, and flexibility we will continue to take steady steps through this grass-roots effort to tackle the major illnesses that are taking the lives of children in Haiti. Together, through the strength of our existing Tents, our network of champions and partnerships, we have the potential to reach many in need of our help. Our initiative in Haiti is a great first step for the Variety Children's Health Campaign. We'll continue to keep you posted and hope you'll take on the challenge to support the initiative.

For only $3 a child your contributions can make a huge impact