Nov 1, 2010 10:34 AM

Hit by a catastrophic earthquake in January 2010, the people of Haiti now confront a new threat. The BBC news reported that cholera, a water-borne disease that affects mainly children and elderly, has taken the lives of nearly 300 people and infected more than 3,600.

Transmitted by infected water and food, the outbreak is linked by health experts to poor sanitary conditions. Bad sanitation and hygiene make the camps set up for those 1.3 million quake survivors much more susceptible to the disease.

Six months after the quake, Klinge Corporation donated a refrigerated container system and an external generator set to an orphanage in Haiti for storing medicine and food. With the cholera outbreak spreading, the need for more aid is critical.

Klinge is reviving its partnership with Astrotech Space Operations to donate a second refrigerated container system and a second external gen-set to the orphanage in Haiti. The 20-foot refrigerated container system will be used to store uncontaminated food and water and medical supplies. Klinge’s picture frame model reefer unit offers maximum cargo space for food and medicine. The external gen-set will be used to power the refrigeration unit in case of loss of power during a hurricane or other emergency situations.

Air Mobile Ministries (AMM), a non-profit relief organization, is offering to transport the refrigerated container system and gen-set from Klinge’s facility in Pennsylvania to Astrotech in Florida free of charge. The equipment will be delivered to the Haiti from this location.

Henrik Klinge, company president and owner, said, “The cholera outbreak in Haiti has made an already terrible situation worse. It is our hope that this donation will provide relief to the orphanage.”

A non-profit organization founded in 1978, AMM has traveled the world bringing medical supplies, food, clothing, and water purifiers to those in need. It has helped disaster victims after hurricanes, tsunamis, earthquakes, and war. Since 2004, AMM has been heavily involved with water purification. To make a donation, visit http://airmobile.org/donate.html.

For more information, call Jason Flynn at 717-840-4500 or e-mail jasonflynn@klingecorp.com.