Safe Water for Communities

From Contaminated to Safe: Bringing Safe Water to Degeance

April 9, 2021

Until August 2020, families in Degeance, Haiti, walked nearly four miles every day to collect water. The farming community sits on the ridge of a mountain in the Artibonite region, and the rocky road to water could be treacherous.  Unfortunately, that water—the cleanest they could access—was unsafe. The Artibonite River and its tributaries are contaminated with cholera and other bacteria that cause waterborne illnesses. Local families had no option but to disinfect their water as best they could, most often by boiling it.   Thanks to your prayerful support, Water Mission installed a new safe water system for the community last summer. With water piped to two convenient tap stands, the 1,500 residents of Degeance no longer need to walk far to retrieve clean, safe water. As the COVID-19 pandemic swept the globe, we also added handwashing stations near each safe water access point. We provided community training on healthy hygiene behaviors, like handwashing, to help keep residents safe.

“It has been a blessing from God to have this water source here,” Thony Deshomme, a local community leader, told us. “Children are healthy and happy. The parents also no longer get sick from drinking the bad water. They spend more time farming and with their families. We are so blessed now.” — Thony

A Degeance resident is thankful to see her community beginning to thrive.[/caption] In Degeance and other communities in Haiti, we are grateful to partner with 410 Bridge, a nonprofit that empowers local leaders to lift communities out of extreme poverty. Often, safe water access is a top priority. Water Mission then builds safe water solutions and trains community members how to properly manage them.  Your commitment to serving hard-to-reach  places  enables Water Mission to strategically prioritize communities throughout Haiti’s vulnerable Artibonite region. Thanks to you, families in Degeance and throughout the region no longer worry about getting sick when they take a sip of water.

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