link for home page link for links page donate to hcdp homepage contact HCDP page link for links page link for about page

BRITA PROGRAM

new brita brita setup brita set up for RX
filtering water
Courtney Murphy, an eight grader from Ichabod Crane, is demonstrating how to treat  rain and well water by using a Brita Dispenser during her visit with students at Ecole Mixte Volonte de Dieu.
collected Rx water

While a few groups are advocating Haiti’s right for clean drinking water, as Tom Spoth wrote in his article for Partners in Health “The failure to address Haiti’s crippling public-health problems is the latest in a long line of oppressive policies toward the country. “ After reading this report and taking into consideration the unreliability of electricity in the country, our members asked themselves what can HCDP do to help. HCDP is helping the people one family at a time accessing clean drinking water by treating their water themselves with a Brita water dispenser.

According to the report "Public water systems are rarely available throughout the year and close to 70 percent of the population lacks direct access to potable water at all times .The percentage of the population without access to safe drinking water has increased by at least seven percent from 1990 to 2005.  Infectious diarrhea was the second leading cause of death in Haiti in 1999, and gastrointestinal infection was the leading cause of mortality for young children. These preventable diseases result primarily from unsafe drinking water and poor sanitation."

With Brita water dispensers/pitchers students of College Mixte Volonte de Dieu or COMIVOD are one group of students who will not have to wait until Haiti’s rights to clean drinking water are restored to drink clean water.  "The private sector" the research reported,  "provides 80 percent of drinking water, and 86.7 percent of residents surveyed reported that they are "always" or "sometimes" unable to pay for water. "With a Brita dispenser/filter there is no need to purchase water.  Collected rain water in large barrels has been a great source of water for most families.  In addition to built-in cistern in most homes, dugged wells have been another great source of water. But that too has been used mostly to bathing, laundry, cooking and other uses, leaving most people forced to purchase drinking water.

The report went on to say  "In order to purchase the WHO's minimum standard of 20 liters of water per day, a Haitian family of four would have to spend approximately 12 percent of its annual income – the equivalent of asking a U.S. family living at the poverty level ($20,444 per year) to pay nearly $2,500 per year for water.

At COMIVOD the students are now treating their own water with funds from SDOP or Presbytery Committee on Self Development of People in addition to students who are attending the school, many families can now treat their own water and feed their families with money they have saved.  Extra filters for replacement up to a year were donated with each water dispenser a family received free of charge until others are made available.

Brita Giveaway

When Jean Magloire, Founder and Executive Director of C.H.A.P.O. or Comprehensive Haitian American Program Outreach, Inc., an organization in Merger that is serving that population with education, a library, with assistance technique, donations of medications and medical equipment, and assistance after a natural disaster, found out about Brita water treatment immediately he asked that a workshop be scheduled at his location for the people of that area.

Workshop at Chapo

Within a short notice a small group gathered to find out how to treat their water and save money.

Water Workshop

Chapo, as Magloire is affectionately called in the area, said during the presentation "actually you just saved me $6. The money I was about to pay for a Culligan type gallon of water if you were not here before the deliver truck."

Water Rx

Not only Chapo has saved money it also helps him to use the renewable resources that are already existed in his environment, (rain and well water) and limiting the amount of waste these used small bags of water or empty water bottles have contributed to the surrounding areas.

As you can see your support will make great things happen for people who need them the most.

 

More Information

Haitian Community Development Project
PO Box 35 Niverville, NY 12130 * (518)784-4395 * info@hcdpinc.org


This site is copyrighted. If you need info on the site contact HCDP.

Site Created and Managed by Michael Chameides
If you have questions or comments about the website email Chameides(at)gmail.com