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Bon Repos 'Clean Water for Haiti'

Permission requested to use photographs from Clean Water for Haiti

For 73% of the Haitian population, the daily search for water is a nightmare. Carrying their buckets, women and girls walk for miles in search for water and when they reach the water source they often cannot afford the high cost.

Vendors can charge up to 100 times as much as the cost of the tap water. This represents one-half of the family's daily food budget. In 2004 54% of population earned below $1 a day. Click for Haiti statistics at a glance.

About 75% of Haiti's population live in abject poverty. Infant mortality is over 10%. The non-potable water becomes a breeding ground for typhoid and cholera -- diseases to which children are particularly susceptible. Access to safe water must be seen as a basic human right and a key factor in the fight against disease.

United Caribbean Trust (UCT) as part of our Imagine me... school child awareness program seeks to partner with Clean Water for Haiti (CWH)

All across Barbados, every month, on 'Child Awareness Day' the children of the Primary and Secondary Schools will be encouraged to bring a bottle of cold water to school instead of purchasing a bottle of soda. This will be a sign of solidarity with the children around the world that often times do not even have water to drink! Seen here the children of Barbados who got involved in the Make Jesus Smile Christmas shoebox project - blessing the children of Haiti.

The US $1 saved will be collected and donated to the UCT's Child Sponsorship Program established within the country being featured that month. UCT is committed to investing US $30 to purchase aBiosand filter from CWH for every family within our Child Sponsorship Program within Haiti .

Complying with two of the Millennium Development Goals -

• Reduce by two thirds the mortality rate among children under five
• Reduce by half the proportion of people without sustainable access to safe drinking water

BioSand Water Filters are an adaptation of slow-sand filtration, designed for use at the household level. The filter removes water-borne bacteria, viruses, protozoa, and other organisms that cause diseases such as cholera, typhoid fever, and amoebic dysentery. The filter also strains out the particles and organic matter that cause cloudiness, unpleasant taste, colour, and odour.

Permission requested to use information from www.cleanwaterforhaiti.org

UCT Founder, Jenny Tryhane travelled to Haiti in December 2007 to look at the feasibility of establishing this project in Jacmel and extending this project into Bon Repos.

UCT is researching the possibility of introducing a Sanitation and Hygiene promotion side by side with the introduction of the Bio Sand Filter Project. While the benefits of improved drinking water supply are evident, it is also true that the effects on health are multiplied several times if combined with improved sanitation and especially hygiene promotion.

Clean Water for Haiti (CWH) is a volunteer run, faith based missions and humanitarian aide organization started in 2001. As a registered non-profit organization in Canada and the US, CWH works to provide sustainable solutions to the water crisis in Haiti.

Through Biosand filter projects CWH is able to provide a simple, effective and affordable solution to the lack of clean water sources for Haitian families. The household slow sand Biosand filter is a simple design that uses basic readily available materials, allows for easy production, and they are easy to transport.

There are no moving parts, they do not require electricity and can be used by even the youngest members of the family. With minimal maintenance a Biosand filter can work effectively for over 20 years and can be manufactured, delivered and installed for about $30 US.

CWH staff and trained Community Stewards (volunteers within a community) provide essential education and support to filter recipients and their communities. By educating people in proper filter use, sanitation and hygiene we are able to give them resources, not only for clean water, but also so they can take proactive steps to prevent the spread of disease which gives them control over their own health.