Please do not donate formula to this hurricane disaster.
Harsh words. Uncaring. Unconcerned. Indifferent. No: Apprehensive.
Concerned. Fearful.
In times of emergency, people generously donate what they can, and some donate more. Infants, the youngest and most vulnerable survivors, are at the top of the list: fragile and weak, needing so much care and compassion. It feels good to give something that will be put to good use, and provide survival. However, donating formula can be a ticket to death.
Relief workers during Hurricane Andrew reported huge piles of unusable formula. Many donations were out of date, and had to be thrown away. Many donations required mixing with clean water, of which there was none. Many donations were exchanged further up the road, for drug money. Formula is one of the largest black-market items in America.
Relief workers in Asia, after the Christmas Tsunami, reported huge donations of out-of-date formula taking up space that would have been better filled by nutritious foods for grown children. Again, they had no clean water to mix formula, and no clean water to sterilize feeding utensils.
Powdered formula is not sterile, and may be contaminated with dangerous bacteria such as E. sakazakii. Combined with a dirty bottle and dirty water, helpless babies will not survive. In the Astrodome, currently housing 25,000 survivors, there are 78 restrooms: how long would someone have to wait to wash a bottle in a sink used by more than 300 people? Formula requires refrigeration within an hour of mixing: how many refrigerators are available and convenient for these people? Formula that sits out for longer than an hour is a breeding ground for bacteria and disease.
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