On Lambi Island there is no potable water source, and the nearest one is 4 hours away (3 hours by boat and then 1 hour on foot). Management Sciences for Health (MSH) conducted an initial needs and assets assessment that discovered that the people living on the island needed safe drinking water. As a result of the assessment, a new rainwater catchment system and storage tank was built and now provides up to 400 gallons of water for the island’s population. This water, which is untreated, presents a significant and immediate health risk which the proposed ceramic filters will eliminate. Corail residents on the mainland have two limited water sources of poor quality and no treatment system in place. Bio Sand filters in the schools will give students access to safe water and greatly reduce disease. The intervention also includes hygiene and basic sanitation components, which will empower the people of Lambi Island and Corail through education and training in essential preventive public health measures such as hand-washing. Pure Water for the World (PWW) maintains an evidence-based and theory driven approach to most efficiently serve community water needs. The model has worked extremely well in Haiti, serving over 110,000 individuals in schools, clinics and homes, in less than 12 months of operation. Following on the success of MSH’s soundly executed and well-received water project in the Corail region in early June of this year, PWW has the support and cooperation of key local stakeholders that will ensure our common goals are met.

Pure Water focuses on education and training, and believes that this is the most important aspect to a clean water and hygiene project. For our technical aspect, we use point of use systems (Bio Sand Filters, Ceramic Filters) to provide schools and families with clean water. We then train teachers, principles, and families in proper hygiene and sanitation practices. These include hand washing, waste management, and other items. This education is a major factor in a sustainable project.

This project will be completed in one phase.

We involve the community, teachers, principles and families by hosting hygiene education workshops. There are those who are trained as community stewards to ensure that the filters are being used properly and a community technician who will be trained to repair filters.

With this specific project there will be no government interaction.

The Island of Lambi is secluded and far from other towns. To reach this island, one has to travel several hours by boat. These people live “out of the sea.” There’s no work for them on the mainland, and they cannot afford to put their children in school. So they escape to Lambi -- for the economic opportunity to fish. There is no water and people bring jugs of water from the mainland when they can – three hours by sailing plus one hour of walking. Otherwise, they dig a hole in the sand and scoop out a cup of water. Malnutrition and water-borne diseases are endemic.