Bay Area Relief Workers: Fight Not Over In Haiti
RICHMOND (KCBS) - One year ago Wednesday, a devastating earthquake swept through Haiti, killing tens of thousands of people. Bay Area relief workers say a cholera outbreak has also proven deadly.
Contra Costa public health nurse Sheilah Zarate recently volunteered at a cholera treatment clinic in a village in Haiti. She said she wasn't prepared for what she encountered.
KCBS' Dave Padilla Reports:
"I couldn't believe how many patients just kept coming in every day wanting to get treated because they don't have any place else to go," said Zarate.
She worked 12-hour shifts for a week, calling it a rewarding experience.
Margaret Trost runs the Berkeley-based "What If? Foundation" that feeds and educates children in Port-au-Prince.
"There are still over a million people living outside underneath tarps, plastic sheets, ripped tents, fabric sewn together – whatever they could create," said Trost.
She said Haitians are very vulnerable right now as disease spreads and poverty worsens. Her organization serves 15,000 meals a week in Haiti.
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