Learning from Within: Latin America WASH Workshop

November 16, 2016

Every year, Water Mission unites several country programs together in a region of the world to share best practices, improve technology implementation, and learn key innovations from field staff. Facilitated by our headquarters Community Development team, the Latin America and Caribbean Regional WASH Workshop is based on a key principle in Helping Without Hurting, that true growth in communities comes from using the skills, resources, and ideas that already exist amongst the people. “Every time people come to Haiti, it’s to tell them how to do things better, not to learn from them,” explained a staff member. The Latin America and Caribbean Regional WASH Workshop took place in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, for just the opposite purpose: to learn from Haitian and Latin American staff, so we can continue to improve Water Mission practices around the world. Innovation and sustainability were at the heart of this week-long workshop; Water Mission’s core value of excellence was at its foundation. Water Mission staff are never finished learning and innovating, because 1.8 billion people are still drinking unsafe water every day (WHO/UNICEF).

Latin America WASH Workshop - Safe Water Field Project

As staff from Honduras, Mexico, Peru, Haiti, and Charleston gathered at the Water Mission Haiti offices in Port-au-Prince in the sweltering August heat, the need to bring safe water efficiently and quickly to as many communities as possible was as palpable as the 80 percent humidity. Each day of the workshop began with prayer, worship, and a study on Helping Without Hurting. Written by Steve Corbett and Brian Fikkert, Helping Without Hurting focuses on a scripture-based, sustainable method of poverty alleviation, held and practiced by Water Mission. The study begins by building a deep understanding of the infinite value of every person. It proposes using the skills, resources, and ideas that already exist in even the most destitute of communities to drive growth that will rebuild broken lives and relationships, embodying the Kingdom of God on earth.

“These regional workshops are based on the ideal that the best innovations occur at the grassroots-level where Water Mission field staff is engaged. They enable us to continuously improve our approach as we draw out, hone, and support solutions from the field. Water Mission places high value on effectiveness, transparency, accountability, and stewardship of God’s resources in our work, all of which are driven by our core value of excellence.” – Andrew Armstrong, Community Development Programs Manager, Water Mission

Water Mission Haiti, for example, has made recent technical advancements by pre-treating unsafe water. As part of the workshop, our staff visited Lafiteau, a community nine miles north of Port-au-Prince, to see this innovation in action. The best water source for Lafiteau’s 7,000 residents is the Artibonite River, whose water “usually looks like chocolate milk.” The Haiti team recognized the need for a pre-treatment system for water sources like this one, so they created a system for treating the water before it even reaches the Water Mission filtration systems. Water Mission Peru engineers avidly listened, planning to develop a similar technology to pre-treat water from the Amazon River.

Latin America WASH Workshop Round Table Discussion

Sanitation was a major focus of the WASH workshop, as Water Mission Honduras, Peru, and Mexico are searching for ways to extend the functional lifespan and ensure sustainable management of pit latrines. Our staff discussed potential solutions for Haiti’s lack of adequate funding for latrines and celebrated lower-than-expected project costs. In the area of community development, some teams shared that they play games and eat meals with communities and Safe Water Committees to maintain friendships – another practice that other Water Mission country programs plan to implement. The Haiti staff also educated the group on their decision to sell prepaid water cards in many communities, explaining that Haitians don’t typically carry cash. Learning, innovation, and progress were critical results of this workshop, but the biggest victory was deepening friendships between the members of different country programs – Peru’s Rafael Vela even chose to stay an extra week! Communication between Water Mission offices around the world has continued to improve since the workshop. As staff reflected on the week, one of the key outcomes was the reminder that “transformation is only able to be achieved by God – our job is just to show people opportunity.” Maybe twenty-nine voices, three languages, one small conference room in Haiti, and a little time spent singing praises to our God was just what we needed to remember. Learn more about our field staff’s work around the world.