SOIL in the Los Angeles times: Cholera is still a threat

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-haiti-cholera-20110724,0,4930249.story

This article from the LA Times discusses Haiti's ongoing struggle with Cholera. SOIL's Executive Director Dr. Sasha Kramer (my boss!), discusses the issue of toilets that have been abandoned or neglected by the international organizations that constructed them. It is an unfortunately common site in many camps to see to

ilets that have clearly been long neglected or altogether abandoned. Many are simply large open bins of human waste that sit below a plywood frame. Doors and toilet seats are often missing and in some cases there is no stall and residents have no choice but to do their business entirely exposed. Though as the article says the neglect and abandonment of these toilets increases the risk for the spread of cholera, it is on a more simple level, an abomination of the simplest ideas of human dignity.

Below is a photo of one of the abandoned toilets discussed above. This particular toilet had no doors, a missing wall, no seat and the catchment area below was simply an open basin full nearly to the brim with human waste. As we pulled away, we passed three young girls holding toilet paper mounting the stairs. They deserve better.