It’s known as Dlo Pwòp in Haiti and is unofficially known as Haiti Water, but International Action—isn’t merely an organization that operates in Haiti to bring clean water to communities in Haiti. It is also involved in other projects, like encouraging the use of solar lighting (about 10 have been installed so far in Jacmel and Port-au-Prince by International Action), providing school supplies, spreading cholera awareness, and executing an intestinal worm elimination program. For the latter program, the organization teams up with AmeriCares and International Action to distribute albendazole tablets to about 90,000 children. In terms of total reach, the organization estimates that it has positively affected the lives of 900,000 people in Haiti through its clean water programs.
International Action counts Haiti’s local churches, schools, and orphanages among its partners as well as DINEPA–the Haitian water agency—and other organizations such as the International Committee of the Red Cross, the American Institutes for Research, Oxfam, Samaritans Purse—among others. The organization’s efforts has led 419,358 people gain access to clean, safe water in 2011 through their cholera prevention consortium. Its donation of 350 buckets of chlorine has provided clean water education to 33 different International and local groups working in Haiti. International Action is continuously working with community leaders to find additional locations locations for chlorine bank branches.
This year when Hurricane Isaac hit Haiti, the organization’s staff trucked clean, safe water to six affected communities, including those in tent cities and residents who had abandoned their homes due to the the storm. Zach Brehmer, International Action’s Director of Research, further explained the organization’s goals and achievements.
Q & A
How did the Haiti Water organization come to be?
The vision for International Action started in 2003 when Lindsay Mattison and Youngmin Chang visited Haiti with a friend. They saw that many of the community water tanks in Port-au-Prince were filled with untreated water. The water was causing children to get sick with cholera, typhoid, hepatitis and diarrhea. They thought this was a tragedy. Children were dying and unable to go to school because they didn’t have the basic need. They realized that the people of Haiti demanded cooperation and understanding, not good intentions and abandoned handouts. In 2006, Lindsay and Youngmin returned to Port-au-Prince with chlorinators and a whole lot of ambition. They immediately began forging community relationships that they’ve strengthened and expanded over the past five years. Lindsay and Youngmin also created a base of operations in Haiti, led by Dalebrun Esther, to execute the organization’s many programs and to address urgent community needs.
Your organization’s tag line is ‘Bringing Clean Water to Haiti’. Just why doesn’t Haiti have clean water?
There is a simple explanation to this, and then a complicated one to explain the simple explanation. Simple explanation: There has not been a completed central water treatment system in any of Haiti’s cities, let alone water treatment systems in rural locations. Explaining the simple explanation: Many of the current issues in Haiti are directly and indirectly related to Haiti’s tumultuous political and social past. The struggle to gain freedom in the late 1700’s destroyed almost all infrastructure in the country including hospitals, access to clean water, sanitation, and food supplies. After the Haitian won freedom, the new leaders forced share cropping because they wanted to keep the plantation system for two reasons: one, the leaders wanted to prove to the world that a plantation export-based economy could be supported without slavery. And two, because the plantation system was the only economy the new leaders of Haiti had ever known. The Haitian population wanted to be done with the plantation system and own their own land to farm on. They were forced to work the plantations, only keeping a quarter of the crops for themselves, or risked punishment.
Oppressive regimes have led Haiti until the late 80’s when Aristide took office. Aristide then disassembled many of the institutions that had been linked to oppressive behavior. However Aristide could not see his policies through and was ousted and brought back on two different occasions. This left the country crippled with very few working institutions and the countries public services fell into even worse disrepair. Throughout all of this internal conflict there were foreign countries that greatly diminished Haiti’s chances of moving forward. These foreign powers forced Haiti into debt, economic isolation, and coerced Haiti into poor tariff policies that benefitted foreign interests rather than the countries own growth.
To build a water disinfection system that supports an entire country there needs to be funds, stability, and trust. In Haiti, there has been very little of these three needs due to the aforementioned history.
Most people who work in the development field often come across challenges. What has been Haiti Water’s biggest challenges?
I’ll talk about our biggest challenge in Haiti and our biggest challenge outside of Haiti. First, biggest challenge in Haiti. Predicting the government’s behavior and enabling the chlorinators to be completely community sustained are our greatest challenges in Haiti. The unpredictability of the government was talked about earlier—highlighted by the resignation of the Prime Minister months ago. Sustainability is always an issue. For the chlorinators to be self-sustaining, the community needs to be able to buy tablet chlorine for their chlorinators themselves—donations of chlorine are not a 50 year solution. Many communities make enough money from water sale to pay water station staff, buy more water, and buy chlorine. However, there is not an establishment in Haiti that sells chlorine tablets at an affordable level.
Second, biggest challenge outside of Haiti. Raising awareness and fundraising is our greatest challenge outside Haiti. It is a constant battle. It takes a long time and a lot of work to help a community reach the point where they can sustain a project on their own finances. Multi-year support and patience is very important.
You’ve no doubt reach several milestones with Haiti Water. What accomplishments is it most proud of?
We have reached 110 various community water stations and nearly 250 schools throughout Haiti. The estimated total population we are helping to provide clean water to be 900,000. Being able to help 900,000 people is amazing.
One of our most important accomplishments is that the communities we work with truly own their chlorinator system — they can test the water, calibrate the chlorinator valve, educate their neighbors about clean water and the chlorinator, and know when to retrieve more chlorine tablets. After two months of training they do all of this without our help.
What does Haiti Water need the most at this point? Lots of people might want to help. So how can they best do so?
There are many ways an individual can help. Our biggest challenge in country is finding a way to make each water station and chlorinator completely self-sustainable — meaning that the community can test their water, adjust the chlorinator so they have the proper amount of chlorine residual, and can buy their own chlorine from a non NGO source. The most difficult of these to accomplish is the latter.
We are working with Haitian communities to create a locally-owned chlorine distribution system — we call this system the Chlorine Bank Network. In order to achieve sustainability there needs to be more exposure of the issue, more funds, and a wide range of ideas discussing ‘community-led funding and community income generation possibilities.’ Anyone can help with the first two needs. If one is not able to donate, it always helps to introduce our group and the work we do to other people. International Action is always very happy to assist people interested in organizing a awareness or fund raising campaign – in some cases we may send staff to help or speak at an event. We are also going to be beginning an in-Haiti volunteer program. It will be focused around clean water education in Haiti and the Chlorine Bank Network.
