Physical Health Haiti Project #8369

Ensure the sustainability of clean water in Haiti

by International Action

Project Report | Oct 27, 2015
Stories From the Field: the cost of sustainability

By Zach Brehmer | Executive Director

In 2015, we have been able to begin one of our most sustainable projects yet: the Clean Water For Artibonite Project.

From start to finish, it has been designed by and for the people they are made to help. Together with community leaders, we created a plan to fund the operation and maintenance of each water pump system and their chlorinators. This is key to their sustainability, as each chlorinator and water pump that we installed needs fuel to run the pump generators, chlorine to refill the chlorinators, and workers running each pump and chlorinator. Funds also have to be saved for future replacements of any broken parts on the chlorinator, water tank, pump or piping. The money required for the water systems isn’t much by our standards but for a community where people make on average make less than $700 a year, we thought this would be a major challenge.

We were wrong.

During our last visit to Haiti, we discovered that people were paying three times what they needed to in order to ensure that they could keep using their water pumps and chlorinators. A quote from Mrs. Pierre, grandmother to 14 grandchildren in the local community, best describes why people are happy to pay more than they have to and why we are so encouraged by the project:

“Why do you all look so shocked we are paying this much? We need this water. If we let it fall apart then we have to walk an hour and a half each day. I don’t want to have to do that again. Would you want to have to do that? It is not a question of want; we need this water.” -Mrs. Pierre, Laraque village

At another site, we were interested to see a long queue of people waiting to use the water pump. When asked why they bothered, they replied that the only other course of water was over an hour away –now this pump was in their village they wouldn’t have to spend hours collecting water, which was well worth the money.

The observation that communities can collect funds to maintain the water systems was one of the most inspiring things I have witnessed in my work at International Action. For Haiti, it gives hope for a sustainable, healthier future.

P.S. As an aside I thought I’d mention that Mrs. Pierre was very generous to accept having her photo taken with me. Unfortunately it is not included in the above report, as on our way back we had precarious river crossing (the road to this remote community being washed out by rain and erosion) and I fell in. With the camera. Just one of the many challenges of working in Haiti!

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Jul 24, 2015
16,000 families are one step away from clean water

By Zachary Brehmer | Executive Director

We are so close to finishing five, large, long-term water treatment systems. They will provide 16,000 Haitian families with every day access to clean, safe water. The chlorinators are installed. The pumps, water tanks and piping are all installed. The people are ready to finally have affordable, sustainable access to clean, safe water.

A total of $7,060 is needed to complete the project. We are grateful for any donation you can provide to help us finish our work, so these 16,000 families will have long-term access to clean, safe water. If you are unable to support the project financially at this time, sharing this email with at least one other person could help us gain the support we need.

If we had this money today we would be able to finish the project by the end of August, 2015. When we say finish, we mean that project is ready to be completely run by the communities receiving the water treatment systems and the local Rotary Club, who will provide long-term monitoring, accountability, and leadership.

Half of the $7,060 needed will be used to help the communities create a platform to elect their community water committees and then train these committee members. The skills they will receive during these trainings will enable the committee members to operate and maintain the chlorinators and pumps, manage the project funds, and monitor each water treatment system. These water committee members will also be in charge of running the community financial support system, which is vital to the long-term sustainability of the project. Please contact me at zbrehmer@haitiwater.org to talk about this process if you are interested.

The remaining funds will be used to build walls around each of the five chlorinators as the communities want extra security for their new water treatment systems. Improvements to the well lining for two of the newly built wells, providing protection from contamination, will also be completed with these funds.

I will be traveling to Haiti on July 28 to oversee the wall building and continue discussions with Rotary on how to proceed. On the project info page you will find examples of some of the ways you can help us finish this vital project, providing 16,000 Haitian families with long-term access to clean, safe water.

Many thanks

Zach Brehmer

Executive Director of International Action

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May 1, 2015
International Action and ACC celebrates WWD 2015

By Jeffery Sejour | Associate Director

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