Haiti: One Year, One Nation
In the past year, the people of Haiti have faced unimaginable challenges. Those surviving the tragic earthquake on January 12, 2010 and the continued aftermath have faced hurricanes, political unrest and most recently the widespread cholera outbreak. How much can one nation of people face? Surely the people of Haiti have been confronted with more strife, crisis and ongoing instability than any one nation should have to face. Haiti has our continued commitment in facing the long road ahead.
We cannot say enough about the perseverance and dedication of our local partner organizations – Hôpital Albert Schweitzer in the Artibonite Valley and Haiti Mission Inc. based in Jeremie. Due to their commitment to improving the lives of people in Haiti, water and sanitation interventions have continued despite the many challenges in the last year. By working through local partner organizations on the ground, Ryan’s Well has been able to continue sending your generous donations directly to our project regions in Haiti where they are needed most. Our local partners were established long before the tragedy of the earthquake and this enabled us to continue our support for sustainable water and sanitation throughout the crisis and to this day.
The project regions in Haiti – the Artibonite Valley and Jeremie – are some distance away from the areas hardest hit by the earthquake and its aftermath. While this fact provided some reassurance for our partner’s safety and continued operations, the increase in population in these project areas over the last year brought about other challenges with lack of basic infrastructure including water and sanitation. Support for sustainable solutions was needed. This need was present before the earthquake and the need continues to this day as people adapt to the new realities and ongoing challenges of life in Haiti.
With our partners at Hôpital Albert Schweitzer and the Rotary Water for Life initiative, your support has enabled completion of 17 wells in the region of Ponte Sondé in the Artibonite Valley, 11 being completed since last January. The wells continue to be tested regularly to ensure water quality and provision of safe drinking water. People accustomed to drawing water from rivers are travelling from remote regions with horses to collect water supplies from the wells. As of today, our Phase 4 project is underway to construct 100 latrines for Ponte Sondé. While the project had already been planned, the cholera outbreak this past fall vastly increased the urgency for improved sanitation to limit disease transmission now and for the future. Thanks to your generous Seasonal Giving donations that will be matched dollar for dollar this year, we have reached our fundraising goal for the latrine project – improved sanitation for Ponte Sondé will become a reality in the next two months.
Haiti Mission Inc. is focused in the Jeremie region, a remote area on the northwest coast which has also seen an increase in population and impacts of the hurricanes last year. The Ravine Sable Safe Water Project started last summer to reconstruct a protected mountain spring and pipe network to bring water supply to the nearby town. This project provides three taps for community water supply. While there was much celebration with water flowing once again in Ravine Sable, the realization also set in that so much more is needed to address the lack of safe water and sanitation access in the region and ever increasing needs of the population.
Now we prepare for the new year with our committed partners in Haiti. We are collaborating with Haiti Mission to prepare for the next project, including construction of drilled wells and latrines to serve the communities and schools of Jeremie. And while latrine construction continues in the Artibonite Valley, our partners at Hôpital Albert Schweitzer and Rotary Water for Life are preparing for their next phase of water and sanitation interventions with more drilled wells and latrines. The coming year will bring a continued commitment of over $130,000 for the Jeremie and Artibonite Valley regions of Haiti.
We can only reach this goal with your continued support. Together we can help to provide brighter days in 2011 for the many people of Jeremie and the Artibonite Valley in need of safe water, sanitation and a healthy day to day life. Learn more about all of our past work in Haiti
WASH Projects in Jeremie and the Artibonite Valley of Haiti need your support now!
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