Reusable Diapers to Prevent Disease in Haiti

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Michael Wahl, along with his wife Starla, created a diaper called Dributts to help prevent diseases in Haiti. Dributts is a reusable diaper made out of athletic Dri-Fit material. The couple says that it is a breathable diaper that does not trap bacteria.

Wahl is a missions pastor who works to ensure healthy living and provide proper sanitation in third world countries. According to the company website Dributts.com, over 80% of disease in developing countries is due to poor sanitation and most victims are children.

The idea to create a reusable diaper started when Wahl went to Haiti for a mission. After building water filtration systems in some areas with no running water, he realized that having clean water alone would not solve Haiti's problems with sanitation.

"A mama was holding on to a baby that was naked and the mom bent down and picked up fecal matter with her hand and threw it out of the house after the baby had went and done her business on her," Wahl told FoxNews.com.

Knowing that stool contact could transmit bacteria, parasites, and deadly diseases, Wahl thought of a way to prevent the transmission from happening. This was what inspired the creation of Dributts.

Disposable diapers were not an option since the poor families in Haiti could not afford them, says FoxNews.com. Additionally, there were no safe places to throw disposable diapers away, so having them lying around would just worsen the problem with sanitation.

According to FoxNews.com, Wahl thought of using reusable cloth diapers as well. However, upon careful research, he found out that the materials used in making cloth diapers could also trap bacteria.

After ruling out all other options, Wahl decided that the best thing to do would be to make the diapers himself, as stated on Dributts.com.

FoxNews.com also reported that once Dributts had been successfully created, the couple contacted two Georgia companies, Slingshot Product Development Group and Supply.com, for help in funding and establishing contacts. Slingshot was to have the diapers mass produced, but this would have taken months. In order to get fast results, Wahl decided to make the diapers at their kitchen table. The couple ended up making 700 pairs.

Each Dributts diaper is priced at $15, as told in a report by FoxNews.com. However, the couple set up the Dributts website so people could donate diapers by buying them online. Dributts.com says that all diapers bought would be sent to families in Haiti and the company would send photos of the families to the donors. Aside from getting a free diaper, families were also trained on using and cleaning the Dributts.