“This water saves us”

Water is life. It is the first necessity for all human beings on a daily basis. It is also essential for the success of agriculture. In the communities of Ganthier and Boen, Haiti, people mostly depend on rain to water their crops. CWS and Dominican partner SSID started programs in these communities after the earthquake of January 12, 2010, a program that transformed from material aid to construction of new houses and community development, including food security.

Since 2014, two wells have been drilled and two pumps installed while six water cisterns were constructed to increase access to water. The cisterns are connected to tin roofs of surrounding houses, thus facilitating rainwater catchment. This year, another two wells will be drilled and six more cisterns constructed. Some of the cisterns supply water through water points at different locations in the community.

The pumps and cisterns are used by community members, currently about 150 families, and are managed by local water committees that are responsible for the cleaning, maintenance and repairs of the pumps and cisterns, filling up the cisterns, and collecting financial contributions from the users of the cisterns that represent an important community good.

Etienne Delimene is one of the users of the cistern in Ganthier/Bosquet and considers the cistern very useful, providing close access to water whenever needed. “Sometimes you can’t go to the source,” she says, “so when it is here it serves us better. We buy a bucket for eight gourdes ($0.14 US) and use the water to do laundry, cook food, etc.” Etienne says the cistern is useful, “because there is fighting at the source. When children go to the source they can’t fill up their buckets, so when I get water from the cistern here that helps me to cook food, etc.”

Avosa Antoine used to get water from a pump in the community. When the pump didn’t work, she had to walk to Kafou Ti Mache, which is quite a walk. In addition, there usually is a long line of people, so she had to wait for an hour until others had filled up their buckets. “Now I am doing laundry here, I come with my bucket to the cistern and can come get water every time I need it, by the bucket. Without the cistern I couldn’t do laundry the same day I fetched water, because it took a lot of time. Now I can manage water better and can even get it in the evening if I want to. It is as if I have water at my house.” To ensure the cistern is kept in good condition, the users clean the cistern and contribute monthly to pay for maintenance related expenses.

For the community members of Boen, “this water saves us.” They have close access to clean water now and no longer need to go to Kafou Ti Mache or even all the way to Source Zabeth, where they have to pay a truck to get water. They are happy with the cistern, which serves them with water to cook, do laundry, bathe, etc. They can drink it if they treat it. As water is getting more and more scarce, and the dry season is lasting longer, access to water gets more crucial. The cisterns and wells facilitate close access to good quality water for domestic use and hopefully in the future also for agricultural use.