In response to the growing demands for clean water from the internally displaced people living in camps throughout Port-au-Prince, International Action has launched a new initiative to fulfill the urgent requests for intervention. We purchased a new water truck, 1,000-gallon capacity, which will serve several camps, clinics, and schools in the metropolitan Port-au-Prince area.
The new water truck will allow us to expand our services to a part of the population that has virtually been forgotten. According to the International Organization of Migration (IOM), approximately 800,000 people remain in tarpaulin camps. Moreover, there is no doubt that the internally displaced people are the most vulnerable to the cholera epidemic and other waterborne illnesses. According to a new study conducted at the University of California, San Francisco and Harvard Medical School, the epidemic now has the potential to spread the disease to nearly 800,000 people— twice the earlier estimate. Our strategic plan to protect more lives entails installing our 2,000-gallon water tanks in numerous camps throughout Port-au-Prince. Furthermore, using our 2,000-gallon water tanks as distribution points, our new water truck will deliver clean water to camp residents, protecting them from cholera and other waterborne illnesses.
As you already know, we’ve recently delivered 150-gallon water tanks to 73 schools in Cité Soleil, Haiti’s most densely populated and impoverished commune. The new water truck will allow us to deliver clean water to some of the schools that lack the infrastructure to catch the municipal water supplied by the National Directorate for Water Supply and Sanitation (DINEPA), the government entity currently operating in Haiti to manage water related issues.
As a member of the Clinton Global Initiative’s Haiti Action Network, we’ve made a commitment to provide clean, safe water for all 2.5 million Haitians in Port-au-Prince through the installation of our water tanks and chlorinators. There is no better way to start than giving the gift of clean water to the displaced people who need it most.
Wesley & the International Action Team