ACTING GL BALLY Vermont nonprofits work the world over in hopes of improving it
SEVENDAYSVT.COM 11.23.16-11.30.16 SEVEN DAYS 30 FEATURE
PAUL A ROUTLY
PHOTOS COURTESY OF GROUNDS FOR HEALTH
B
y accident of birth, Americans live in one of the most prosperous nations in the world. Those of us fortunate enough to reside in Vermont have that going for us, too. Life may not feel like a royal flush, but, compared to the cards dealt to most of Earth’s inhabitants, we are lucky indeed. Most people in the world aren’t complaining about travel delays and Facebook algorithms; they’re looking for food, water, shelter and, on a really bad day, urgent medical care. An obvious solution to the worldwide refugee crisis: Make it better for people where they are so the risks of leaving outweigh the benefits. Some nonprofits in Vermont strive to do just that. From the comfort of the Green Mountains, these organizations stretch to the farthest reaches of the globe to help people who, through no fault of their own, lack what we take for granted. Here Seven Days reporters profile a sampling: Rutland-based Pure Water for the World distributes water filtration systems in Haiti and Honduras, where, in some places, dirty water is the only kind available. From Waterbury, the Himalayan Cataract Project dispatches eye doctors across the globe to perform a simple surgical procedure that reverses blindness. Williston-based Grounds for Health screens women in developing countries at risk of contracting cervical cancer — before they become statistics. Those women are seven and a half times more likely to die of the disease because they don’t have access to health care. Fledgling but no less earnest: New Burlingtonian Cleophace Mukeba recently created the Ibutwa Initiative to help shunned victims of sexual assault in the Congo; his mother died as a result of violence there. These local efforts attempt to correct just a few of many global injustices. They also serve to remind us that, regardless of whether America is “great” enough, its citizens have a lot to be thankful for.
Women waiting to be screened in Ethiopia
COMMON ‘GROUNDS’
A Williston org screens for cervical cancer in coffee regions In June 2012, nurse practitioner Ellen Starr arrived at the foothills of the Mount Kilimanjaro region in Tanzania, exhausted after a bumpy, two-hour car ride. She and a colleague from Williston-based Grounds for Health were supposed to supervise a local health care provider they had trained to perform cervical precancer screenings. But no “patients” showed up, and the visitors were perplexed. Another individual — a local health promoter — later told them why. Starr recounted: “Word got out in the community that a woman would go in, lie down on the table, spread her legs, the nurse would … insert her hand in her vagina, take hold of her uterus, pull it out, treat it or test it, and shove it back again.” The health promoter and a priest quickly spread the word that none of those rumors was true. Soon enough, women began arriving for tests.
Starr said the incident illustrates the crucial role that community leaders play in aiding the mission of Grounds for Health, which aims to reduce cervical cancer among women in the developing world. It works closely with public health authorities and coffee cooperatives to train local doctors, nurses and community health promoters. The nonprofit coordinates screening and treatment services in areas where the disease is prevalent. One of the original employees at Green Mountain Coffee Roasters — now Keurig Green Mountain — founded the organization, as a result of a shrewd observation in the field. Daniel Cox was visiting a Mexican coffee cooperative in 1995 and had brought along a friend. Retired obstetrician-gynecologist Dr. Francis Fote noted that the women there were dying of cervical cancer at an alarming rate. Caused by the sexually transmitted HPV virus, cervical is the second most common cancer in women living in less developed regions, according to the World Health Organization. Since the women lack access to screening, cervical cancer often escapes detection until it has advanced and women are exhibiting symptoms.