Youthaiti Featured in Natural Awakenings Magazine
The Milwaukee Edition of Natural Awakenings magazine recently profiled the work of Youthaiti. Linda Sechrist writes,
According to the United Nations, 2.6 billion individuals, or nearly 40 percent of the world’s population, lack access to adequate sanitation, and around 1.2 billion practice open defecation. During a 2006 medical mission, Gigi Pomerantz, a licensed nurse practitioner at Aurora UW Medical Group, in downtown Milwaukee, discovered the impact that poor sanitation and lack of clean water have on the citizens of Haiti, where 85 percent of rural residents do not have access to sanitation, and 70 percent lack access to potable water. By 2008, she would be founding a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, Youthaiti, to address the problem.
You can catch the rest of the article online.
A Note from Rabbi Jonathan Slater
Dear Gigi,
It happens that there was a story on NPR yesterday afternoon about Haiti , particularly having to do with composting toilets, which reminded me of your work. I’m now in the “non-profit” world, and understand what it takes to make a project go forward, how hard it is to raise the money to do good things. And, the good things that you are doing are on the ground, right where life is happening in its most basic way – and the particular angle that you have on making life livable, sustainable and integrated is so important. Youthaiti is not a big organization, but I “get” it, and I’m happy to support the project and to connect in this way to people otherwise so far away, and living such different lives from me. Thank you and your team for that.
Rabbi Jonathan Slater
Why We Care About Poop
Watch Youthaiti’s video entry from Water for People’s “Support a Movement” campaign: Why We Care About Poop.
Why Sanitation?
Watch Youthaiti’s founder Gigi Pomerantz speak about how the organization got its start, its mission, and the work it does at the World Toilet Summit in this video. You can learn more about the Summit and the World Toilet Organization here.
YOUTHAITI is a Milwaukee-based charitable organization focused on developing ecological sanitation options and sustainable food sources through composting toilets, community gardens, and community education.
To make a contribution, click the DONATE NOW button on the left side of this web page.
For more information contact Gigi Pomerantz at info@youthaiti.org
