Bas Morne La Coupe, 2E Section, Acul du Nord, Haiti
Water access was a constant burden for the residents of the 2E Section of the Bas Mourne La Coupe community. While the 200 community members had a borehole, the hand pump had broken, leaving them without safe water. The women and children tasked with water collection then had to range far and wide in search of other water sources. Many started collecting water from a distant canal. However, the water in the canal dwindled during the hot summer months, once more leaving the residents without the water they needed for drinking, cooking, hygiene, and chores.
Water collection was time consuming, exhausting, and often unrewarding. Even if the residents were able to get water from the canal or another source, there was no guarantee of its safety. Most water sources were contaminated, leaving the community members ill with diarrhea, dysentery, typhoid, and parasites. Water rationing was common since the residents tried to conserve every precious drop, but this only perpetuated the spread of disease in Bas Mourne La Coupe.
Garcon Rosie is a 71-year-old dressmaker in Bas Mourne La Coupe. She and other residents knew the water crisis was greatly impacting the community at-large and the children in particular. Garcon said, “Before this intervention, the [water access] situation was critical. We had to travel almost 40 minutes. Sometimes the lives of the children were threatened as they had to cross the highway to collect drinking water. A child almost lost a leg while crossing the road.”
Residents knew that they needed a safe and reliable water source to keep their children healthy and safe. Community leaders soon heard about Living Water International’s work in the region and reached out, requesting urgent help. Living Water Haiti responded to the community’s need by coming to rehabilitate the existing well!
Living Water helped the Bas Mourne La Coupe community establish sustainability practices to help ensure a future of safe water access, guiding them in the creation a water committee to oversee the care and maintenance of the well. Living Water will stay in contact with the community to support sustainability efforts and monitor the well’s functionality.
The Living Water staff also held a hygiene and sanitation promotion activity. These interactive lessons were designed to help residents who participated understand how to use the safe water you provided to improve their overall health. The residents finished the training excited to implement all that they had learned.
Throughout the Bas Mourne La Coupe water project, the Living Water team explained that the water in their rehabilitated well represented the living water that God freely offers to everyone. This culminated in an evangelistic service where community members heard the good news of the gospel.
Garcon is relieved to have a working borehole in her community again. Safe water has brought hope to Bas Mourne La Coupe. Garcon explained that with a working borehole, residents’ “lives will improve, both in terms of health and economics, since we will not have to spend so much time getting water.”
She and her neighbors know that safe water changes everything. They can now envision a future that isn’t marred by thirst or need. They take pride in their ability to implement community-driven solutions to prevent their well from falling into disrepair.
| COMMUNITY DETAILS | |
| Exact Coordinates: | Latitude: 19.70671 | Longitude: -72.34979 |
| Previous Water: | Canal |
| Source/Location: | Rural Community |
| Total Users: | 200 |
| Main Water Collectors: | Women and children |
| CONSTRUCTION DETAILS | |
| Pump Type: | Hand pump |
| Depth of Well: | 30 m |
| Coliform Bacteria: | Absent |
