A bold plan to protect God's thirsty children from cholera in Haiti
For nearly 10 years Water With Blessings’ unique model of empowering mothers as Water Women has saved lives in 45+ countries. Now we have launched an intensified version of our standard Water Woman program with the aim reaching the entire population of Haiti. With your help, we are making it happen!
What motivated this campaign?
Our efforts were first motivated by numerous requests for help from communities near Les Verettes, Haiti. We are convinced that cholera can only be eradicated by a general access to safe drinking water…and that we have a way to make that possible.
- Many other organizations have attempted remedies that have been only temporary solutions (i.e. vaccines or chlorine tablets).
- We have a plan for a permanent defense against cholera.
What is cholera?
Cholera is an acute diarrheal disease that can kill within hours. It’s transmitted through dirty water. Since the 2010 earthquake in Haiti, thousands have fallen ill or died from this waterborne disease.
In our standard program, we entrust Sawyer PointONE water filters into the hands of mothers (“Water Women”) who attend our extensive training and make a sacred commitment to share filtered drinking water with 3 neighboring families.
- Our Village by Village campaign in Haiti replicates the success of our Water Woman program. In November 2017, we started in 14 villages near Les Verettes, Artibonite, a targeted move to eradicate cholera in one of the hardest hit areas of the country.
- This is our first campaign that attempts a "wall to wall" solution for an area the size of the Verrettes commune. Les Verettes is what we're calling our first footprint.
UPDATE:
As of May 2018, we have finished our first “footprint” in Verrettes, and we are excited to report that there have been ZERO reported cases of cholera! We know cholera is traveling in the river through Verrettes because there are cases reported in communities both north and south of there. This tells us our “Hero Water Women” and their Sawyer filters are working.
Want to get involved?
Here’s what we need from you, friend of God’s thirsty children! We need to reach 28,000 households in each village for our second footprint in Anse-à-Veau, Haiti. That means we need to fund roughly 7,000 Water Women in each village to accomplish that goal. And we need your help to do it. Can your book club pass the hat? Does your high school student need a service project? Are you looking for an easy way to empower women? This is it! The downloadable flyers below are resources to help you get started.
- Remember, $75 provides clean water for four families FOR LIFE.
- Blessings for your support!
Read more about our story in this LEO article
