Haiti – Artibonite Valley Phase 6

Phase 6 of this ongoing project was completed with the Water and Wells Division of Hôpital Albert Schweitzer in Deschappelles (HAS), Haiti and Rotary Club of Ancaster, Ontario. The region continued to struggle with lack of sanitation and safe water access with illness and deaths due to cholera continuing.

This project phase focussed on enhanced hygiene education throughout the four villages where wells will be constructed. In addition, a trained and knowledgeable well pump technician is essential for ensuring safe water quality and functioning wells in the region. Hôpital Albert Schweitzer has a dedicated and trained staff person for well maintenance but this role requires support for spare parts, transportation through distance villages, ongoing training and labour costs. Within our goals for WASH Sustainability, Ryan’s Well worked with HAS to support ongoing maintenance by providing resources for this technician. With more functioning wells, residents are less likely to fall back to old patterns of collecting water from unsafe and unprotected sources like rivers and surface water.

Activities:

Drilling and construction of 4 community wells
Expanded hygiene education and sanitation training in each of the 4 communities
Subsidy for Hôpital Albert Schweitzer regional well/handpump repair technician
*Costs include (in Canadian dollars): Water quality monitoring, hygiene education activities, water source committee training, project monitoring, reporting & partner coordination for WASH sustainability, all construction, drilling, materials and labour as required.

Final Update:

Under our Sustainability/Capacity mandate, we facilitated a Pump Mechanic Training course in Haiti in October. As a result of that training, the technicians were able to rehabilitate five wells which were completed in the following villages: Relpou, Savane Bourg, Marguerite, Castra and Pont Tante-Centre de Formation Croisade. From these rehabilitations, 1750 people now have access to a clean water source.

To Learn More:

Spotlight – Haiti: One Year, One Nation (2011)
Ryan’s Well in Haiti
Haiti Cholera Outbreak
Ryan’s Well and HAS (Hôpital Albert Schweitzer Blog)