Most of us go about our daily lives getting a glass of water whenever we want… have plenty of water for cooking and bathing…water our lawns and do outside projects without even worrying about the availability of water.
Did you know in Haiti, approx. 52.4%…2.5 million people do not have access to clean water? In rural and distant communities like Tapion, Tiburon, the percentage may be even higher.
As we are going forward with our Tiburon community development project, we find ourselves in a precarious position. Our problem is finding a reliable water source to use in the construction of our concrete and cement.
Currently we are connected to the town’s water supply, but unfortunately, it is in constant disrepair and is unreliable. The system is off for days, weeks, sometimes months.
For us to complete our work, we decided to search out all options and find the best solution. We searched the surrounding countryside looking for water sources and determined that digging a well was a good option for us. After looking all around and visiting several wells, talking to the locals, and prayer, we started to dig.
The two main concerns:
Can we find water
Since we are near the ocean, will the water be salty when we find it
In our years of experience working in Haiti, we have seen many projects fail because time has not been invested in planning for the future. Some foreign organizations assume that every resource will be available at their disposal and when they finish a project, local community members will have the resources to make the necessary repairs. The result...temporary success and a broken system.
Overture Outreach International has a different approach...
Sustainability planning is a critical component for our community development projects. We want communities and families to achieve long term success so we seek solutions that will assure that the community can manage and maintain development projects independently after installation, therefore we:
use appropriate technology
use parts available in Haiti
provide training to develop skills to maintain and repair project assets
engage with partners for continued sustainability and growth