Ensure the sustainability of clean water in Haiti

Fabias, located in rural Artibonite a few miles outside of Port-au-Prince, is home to over 30,000 people. Isolated and with very limited water resources, Fabias has only had one well with a hand-pump to supply water for the thousands in the town.  Up until now, that is. International Action Director, Jeffery Sejour, was fortunate to be there the day we delivered and installed the first water tank at a local school, Presbytérale School of St. Francis of Assisi, one of the three community centers in Fabias we will be providing with clean water.

“When we first got there, a crowd of excited kids ran up to our truck from the school yard. Father Alexis Robinson, who is in charge of the school, told us how very appreciative he was of the new water treatment system and that this was a great opportunity for the community, especially the children, who will benefit the most from access to clean water.”

The new 2,000 gallon water tank, pump, and chlorinator International Action has provided will give over 300 students and their families the gift of safe, clean water for many years to come. Three spigots inside the school will provide water for the 312 students, aged kindergarten through sixth grade, while three spigots on the outside the school fence will server their families in the community. In Fabias, clean water will not only mean improved health for families and their children but will also mean that students at Presbytérale School of St. Francis can focus on learning and not on their thirst. It will mean less time collecting water, a task that often falls on children, and more time in the classroom, where they belong.

One child out of every eight dies before the age of five of preventable diseases, such as diarrhea, typhoid, and malaria – the highest mortality rate among children in the Western Hemisphere. To make matters worse, most schools in Haiti have no access to clean water. Lack of hygiene and sanitation has become a major problem for Haitian students. They fall ill regularly and are unable to attend classes or fail to perform well.

International Action has made it its goal to stop this and keep children in school by providing clean water and allowing them to receive the education they deserve to build a prospering Haiti for the future. In the past, we have provided and installed water tanks in some of Haiti’s most impoverished and densely populated communities in the slum Cité Soleil. Out of over 194 schools that we have protected in the past, in 2011, we collaborated with the Clinton Global Initiative Haiti Action Network member Architecture for Humanity to install the first clean water system for the Southeast water project at École La Dignité, a primary school in the town of Cayes-Jacmel. With our installation, the students now have safe, treated water to drink during the school day. They can also bring water from the tank home with them to protect their families and to quench their thirst at night. École La Dignité is headed by Mrs. Vivianne Vieux who says that the 2,000-gallon water tank means that her 227 students no longer will have to worry about waterborne illnesses.

Please help support education in Haiti with clean, safe water by making a donation.