Used Hotel Soap Fights Cholera In Haiti

A baby sits next to her mother who suffers from cholera symptoms in a sport center that has been converted into a cholera treatment center in Cap Haitien, Haiti. (AP)

Since October, cholera has swept through Haiti, killing more than 1,000 and hospitalizing more than 25,000 people. Although hand washing is the best ways to prevent cholera, many Haitians are unable to afford soap. The nonprofit group, Clean the World, is trying to fill the void with the one million used, soap bars that hotels in North America throw away everyday. The group collects, sanitizes and transports the hotel soaps to Haitians in need. We speak with Shawn Seipler, Clean the World’s co-founder and executive director, who just returned from Haiti.

Clean the World: Find out how to help
New York Times Photo: Haitians Plunge Into Muck to Stem Cholera

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We welcome comments from all of our listeners. Post below. Please stay on topic and be civil. Comments may be moderated by us, but you are solely responsible for the content of your comments.

http://www.cleantheworld.org Matt G.

Thanks for the interview with Clean the World’s executive director Shawn Seipler. We truly appreciate the coverage of our efforts to promote a “hygiene revolution” one bar of soap at a time.

As mentioned in the interview, in less than two years Clean the World has distributed more than 6 million bars of soap throughout the United States and more than 40 countries worldwide. We have recently distributed 100,000 soap bars in Haiti and have committed another 200,000 soap bars by early December to help combat the spread of cholera.

As a non-profit 501 (c) (3) organization, we encourage tax-deductible donations to help finance the costs of soap recycling, transportation and distribution. Your gifts help put soap in the hands of people who need it most — at home and abroad. Please give so others may live: http://www.cleantheworld.org/donate-money.asp

Thanks for helping Clean the World.
microcosm

What a fantastic idea! It makes me stop and be thankful for the basics that most of us take for granted. The challenge in Haiti has always been getting things to the people that need them, absent much needed infrastructure. Many props to Clean the World for this one! Reduce- Reuse – Recycle!
http://www.lakesregionspirit.com/soapforhaiti Kevin

we are currently partnering with Clean the World, collecting recycled, and new, soap for Haiti. Now through Dec. 17. Check us out at http://www.lakesregionspirit.com/soapforhaiti. We are also accepting cash donations for buying soap and are hosting an on-line auction of local, Lakes Region products.
Claudia

The same story was done on NPR months ago with the young man that came up with the idea. Did the group on today’s story buy the non-profit from him? Hopefully they didn’t just steal the idea.

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