Nearly half a million people in the South Department (Le Sud) of Haiti have no access to clean, safe water, or adequate sanitation. The dirty and contaminated water they are drinking is prone to the propagation of cholera and water-borne diseases. Not only have these people been forced to gamble their health with unsafe drinking water, but most of them do not even have toilets. As a result, they defecate in open fields, with disastrous impacts on the environment and on their health. This problem is exacerbated by inadequate hygiene. These conditions are ideal for the spread of the deadly cholera epidemic that is ravaging the South. Too often, parents tragically lose their children to cholera and other diseases that could have been prevented if the communities had used toilets and had access to clean water.

RSH is currently working with Waters Mission International to install a clean water project in Roche-Jabouin, where the inhabitants are getting their drinking water from a contaminated well. This clean water project will have a water filtration system and an electronic pump with solar panels. This project will benefit thousands of people.

We also plan to dig five wells, to provide safe drinking water, and to build 50 latrines in rural communities in Port-Salut, to safely dispose of human waste. To ensure continued improvement in sanitary conditions, we plan to train villagers in proper hygiene and to construct other sustainable water projects. Our projects are community-focused and require community engagement and participation throughout the process to ensure long-term sustainability.

CLEAN WATER

On October 4, 2017, Hurricane Matthew, a category 4 storm, decimated the southern part of Haiti, including the village of Roche-Jabouin. It completely destroyed 119 of its 125 houses in the village and wiped out its only clean water system. Since then, approximately 1,560 families are without clean water and are forced to gamble their life by drinking and bathing with a contaminated water that is unsafe for human consumption. As a result, hundreds of children are being diagnosed with water-borne diseases, including typhoid, cholera, and chronic diarrhea.

But you can help save their lives by supporting our project to repair the clean water system and provide safe drinking water to the families. RSHaiti needs to raise at least $35,000 to repair the water system: to pay for Reverse Osmosis units, Softener, Microbial Filter, Inverters, Solar Panels, Submersible Pump, Batteries, and Controller.

SANITATION

On September 28, 2014, RSHaiti began building 20 toilets in the village of Roche-Jabouin to address a major sanitation problem in the area where 88% of the households do not have toilets.

These 20 toilets are partially financed by Digicel Foundation. RS Haiti plans to build 150 and is seeking funding to build the additional 130.

The construction of these toilets will help eradicate the cholera epidemic, improve the living conditions of the people, protect the environment, and reduce water-borne diseases in children. This project will serve 8,600 people.