Haiti : Potable Drinking Water
So many areas of Haiti are without potable drinking water. An organization called Hanwash aims to change that. Developed by a group of Rotarians in 2018, Hanwash has a number of pilot areas that Rotarians are working towards bring potable drinking water too.
In 2019, I visited the NE corner of Haiti in a commune named Ferrier. There is no drinking water. Locals have to walk to Dominican to get water, buy water from a truck and more then they can afford or go with very little drinking water. The signs of dehydration is apparent especially in the youngest of the communities. Rotary District 5060 which is an area of central BC Canada and central Washington USA, have worked together since 2019 on a large Rotary grant to build a water system. One day all households will have pay for service water meters at their homes.
November 2023, drilling is about to begin. We look forward to providing updates and photos of the success of this project.
November 2023
Our trip to Haiti to see the first drilling of the water system in Ferrier is so encouraging and memorable. It has been a long time coming and we finally have the action happening we need to get the water system moving forward. We have been inspired to hear that the communes we will be serving are also committed to the latrines they need built before their water is delivered to the households. 67 of 70 have now been built.
WATER and SOIL
Haiti is a complicated country. The systems in some areas are broken and a long way from being fixed as we are hearing about in the South of Haiti. I haven’t been to the south, but the North is chaos on the streets and with the lack of solutions to clean up the environment. Specifically the streets and beaches littered with garbage. The garbage heaps of plastics were a lot larger in 2019 when I was last here. If only they had a government that would spend money on recycling and proper litter controls.
We came to Cap Haitian to meet up with fellow Rotarians who are our partners in a water project in the NE, in the commune of Ferrier. After 4 years the dream of bringing potable drinking water to Ferrier is finally happening albeit a long wait to get to this point. We saw the drilling happen on a piece of land that was planned for through our engineer experts. They hit 90 meters and found a large aquifer containing good drinking water.
A few challenges but the hope is to get the pipe in place and a pump soon to do a pump test. This project is funded by Rotarians, Rotary Clubs, Rotary Districts and the Rotary Foundation, and will eventually serve 5000 people. It was great to meet up with all the different groups that are partners in this water project. The engagement with the people I have only dealt with on Zoom was valuable and I feel the trip has strengthened the connections and our working relationship going forward.
Besides all the meetings we had to work through the Water System in Ferrier, we did venture away for a vocational tour of SOIL. Soil is a non profit that is turning human waste into packaged compost for sale to anyone that can use it in their fields and gardens. SOIL employs 62 people at their offices and the production facility.
The portable toilets are simple to make and assemble. The homes pay a one time low fee for the Toilet, buckets and the compost material used to help break down the waste in the bucket. This eliminates the smell while the households have to wait 8 days to get a SOIL rep to pick up the waste and bring it to the production facility. I hope one day there may be a recycling solution that offers locals to clean up the cities, bring the garbage to the plant and be reimbursed for it. PlasticBank is a perfect example of what has been done in other countries.
The country is lush in places, mountainous, and includes other islands that offer some retreat from the hustle and bustle of 1000’s of motorbikes, tuk tusk and cars racing in and out with no clear path. No lights or stops but it seems everyone makes it through to their destination without too many scrapes.
The best part of my trip were the people I work with, their generosity, patience, and time commitment they gave us while there. Many people broke away from their families and jobs to insure we had a comfortable and safe 6 days visiting the project site and attending the many meetings they organized for us.
I didn’t feel unsafe once, and I cannot describe the gratitude and heartfelt memories made and feel. Magarette organized meetings, and our social retreat, Junior helped organize the travel to and from Ferrier, the drivers and the police escort. Wildaine made sure we were picked up and driven around many times and was a wonderful person to have around socializing with us and making sure that we understood some of the conversations. Luz our airport concierge was incredible getting us out of the airport and helping me through the lineup leaving.
Thank you Haiti for the experience and I send prayers that peace will come to the areas experiencing tragedy. The Haitien people will always have a special place in my heart.
