In 2021, Capgemini, Solidarités International et Fonto de vivo deployed purifiers to bring water to schools in Haiti's Ouest and Grande Anse regions. The aim of this humanitarian partnership is to reduce the risk of water-borne diseases in the long term. A programme to deploy 60 ORISA® water filters now provides 30 schools with a safe solution for drinking quality water and washing hands. 4,400 pupils and 154 teachers are involved, and can now concentrate on teaching and learning, because access to education is a right for everyone.

CAPGEMINI'S HUMANITARIAN SPONSORSHIP FOR WATER IN HAITI'S SCHOOLS

Haiti is a region of the world that is highly exposed to climatic hazards. It has experienced more than 50 natural disasters since 2004, and the phenomenon has intensified, even doubling since 2010. By its very nature, the country has major disparities in terms of access to drinking water within the population, and climatic disasters reinforce these disparities every time. Improving Water, Hygiene and Sanitation (WASH) services in the country is a prerogative to ensure the sustainability of the elimination of cholera in the country, but also to prevent other diseases linked to water and sanitary conditions such as malaria and diphtheria. 45% of Haitians have no access to an improved water source, 31% practise open defecation and 75% have no access to hand-washing facilities with soap*.

It is against this backdrop that Capgemini, a leader in digital services, has decided to make a commitment to humanitarian aid through a corporate philanthropy initiative. Driven by the value of solidarity which is part of its DNA, Capgemini works for humanitarian aid through its CSR policy, which aims to : "Give meaning and have a positive impact on our society and for the planet". This is why the company has made a commitment to Solidarités International through the deployment of ORISA® water purifiers, manufactured in France by Fonto de vivo. ORISA® brings purified water to people for whom this vital need is not a daily reality.

SCHOOLCHILDREN AND TEACHERS RECEIVED ORISA® WATER PURIFIERS DURING THE SUMMER.

The 60 purifiers dedicated to schools in Haiti have been shipped to the capital Port-au-Prince. Having arrived in the area last spring, the Solidarités International teams deployed the purifiers in 14 of the 30 schools before the annual closures in June.

To begin with, pupils and teachers were trained in the installation and use of the purifiers. They were then given dedicated maintenance training to ensure that the filtration performance was maintained and that they were able to enjoy healthy water over the long term, in complete autonomy.

  • Distribution of purifiersÉcole Esther Beaubrun Honorat

  • Teacher trainingSchool Don de Dumerlan Dumerlin

  • Checking filtration quality with teachers École Nationale Jalousie

WATER IN HAITI'S SCHOOLS FOR A LONG TIME WITH ORISA®

Last September, when the schools reopened, the local Solidarités International teams continued their distribution and training activities. Together with the teachers, they presented the filtration systems to the pupils. As well as highlighting the need for access to clean water, this was an opportunity to raise awareness of the importance of good hand hygiene in the fight against water-borne diseases and epidemics. The schoolchildren then watched a demonstration of filtration by manual pumping using ORISA®. They then tested it themselves to familiarise themselves with the very simple operation of the purifier. Finally, the trained teachers demonstrated the steps involved in backwashing the ultrafiltration membrane. This operation preserves the filtration performance of the water filter by cleaning the pores of the membrane, and takes just a few seconds.

  • Training schoolchildren and installing ORISA® purifiersÉcole Nationale Esther Beaubrun Honorat

  • Teacher training Guillaume Manigat National School

  • Training for schoolchildrenÉcole Nationale Esther Beaubrun Honorat

HUMANITARIAN AID ALL THE MORE NECESSARY AFTER THE DEADLY EARTHQUAKE

Since the passage of Hurricane Matthew in October 2016, access to drinking water and sanitation infrastructure has remained a challenge in the Grande Anse department, a particularly hard-hit area. Last August, the poorest country on the American continent was hit by another magnitude 7.2 earthquake. "The human toll [...] now stands at 2,207 dead, 344 missing and 12,268 injured", stated a civil protection report at the end of August. Since then, international NGOs have been coming to the aid of the population with an emergency and reconstruction approach, since in addition to the very heavy human toll, more than 37,000 houses have been destroyed. This humanitarian aid is essential to enable the population to return to a dignified, autonomous and safe life, especially as the country is in the throes of political chaos following the assassination of President Jovenel Moïse, which is making the country's governance and reconstruction policy even more difficult.

©Solidarités International

*OCHA for the Humanitarian Country Team, 2018, Revised Humanitarian Response Plan, January-December 2018

"Access to water remains a major problem. We provide autonomy to people whether they are in emergency or humanitarian development situations".

David Monnier, former humanitarian, Chairman and co-founder of Fonto de vivo, is your point of contact for humanitarian programmes dedicated to access to clean water.

"Adapting filtration technologies and making them affordable for everyone's use, to meet the social and ecological challenges of our time."

Anthony Cailleau, French representative for projects in Colombia, Managing Director and co-founder of Fonto de vivo, contact for development aid and international cooperation.

Humanitarian contact

Similar articles

View all
1 3
View all