Drinking Water for About 60 Thousand Children
About 60,000 children from 229 schools in the metropolitan area [of Cite Soleil] are drinking potable water through the project “Pure Water for Haiti,” designed by Pure Water for the World (PWH) and Management Sciences for Health (MSH).
This project, which ends in March, 2009, “aims to improve the health of people in disadvantaged communities through access to clean water and training on hygiene practices, especially hand washing [practices that] can surely reduce the risk of diseases transmitted through unsafe water,” says a document submitted to the press.
A factory for water filters, which employs [several] residents of Cite Soleil, has been created through this project. It manufactures filters with materials simple and accessible to all people. “It’s very economical; this device is designed based on the use of concrete. Commonly, it is called a water filter. It treats water with prepared sand. On the first two days, parasites begin to disappear and, after two weeks, 95% of parasites and [bacteria] die. It is a natural process, inexpensive, and accessible to the majority of the population. It is a process that is used in many countries; and it was a Canadian, David Manz, who invented the device, says Roman Cipus, chief of operations of the plant.
This Thursday, eight months through the implementation of the project, the U.S. ambassador to Haiti, Janet A. Sanderson, conducted a supervisory visit of the factory and beneficiary schools of the project “Pure Water for Haiti” in Cite Soleil.
Florence Guillaume, [deputy] head of MSH, one of the executors of the project, stressed the importance for the lives of children of disadvantaged social groups, including Cite Soleil. “About a year ago, we formulated a dream, that of reducing child mortality. To do this, we had to address the main causes of the problem, in particular, diarrhea and malnutrition. We facilitated access to safe drinking water to children in the country, especially in those disadvantaged groups. At first glance, this may seem ludicrous; however, water is vital in child development. Safe drinking water prevents physical and mental deficiency; combats malnutrition and maximize the performance of the child in school. So this is an opportunity to thank USAID and “Pure Water for World” (PWH) which funded this initiative,” said Florence Guillaume.
The ambassador Janet Sanderson, all while underlining she also the importance of the project, sharply congratulated Charles Adams, director of “Water for World”. “By way of a traditional speech, I must compliment Charles Adams for his unshakable engagement in the project realization. Even when it was kidnapped and drives to Quoted Sun, this devotedness never left it, it did not stop explaining his project to the abductors. When it was relaxed, it could have left the country, abandon the project. But no, he chose to stay; and now that the project exists, more than 60,000 children are benefiting. I must greet his courage and his tenacity and, especially, his solidarity with the Haitian people”, applauded Janet Sanderson.
On the sidelines of the ceremony, several school directors have testified about the benefits of the initiative in their establishments. “This project is of great value. My school has benefited from the water filters — five for a population of 200 children — thus a filter for every 50 children. Teachers were trained on the use and filtering techniques of water. It was useful because, sometimes, parents cannot give money to children to buy food, or even a gourd [two and a half] cents for a packet of water. We know the importance of water for the well-being of children. I think that some households have a water filter, and children can bring water from their respective families,” says Alexander Clobert, director of College Le Savoir, in Delmas 19.
Publication – Le Matin
By Natacha Clerg
Friday, 12 December 2008
