More Haitians Could Die in Aftermath than from Quake, Without Access to Safe Water and Sanitation

“For our team, the race against the clock has moved from mere survival to preventing deadly diseases associated with contaminated water and sewage.” - Molly Greene, Water Missions International, engineering relief and development org. working in Haiti

CHARLESTON, S.C., Feb. 11, 2010—Clean water experts working in Haiti are focusing  on the next wave of urgency always present soon after natural disaster.

"More Haitians could die in the aftermath than from the quake itself without ongoing access to safe water and sanitation solutions," said Molly Greene, founder of leading engineering relief and development organization Water Missions International.

"Our team is busy installing and training local people to operate our long-lasting solar-powered water treatment units, each able to provide the daily water needs of 3,000 people for at least the next 20 years," said Greene.  

"Today, we begin transporting innovative metal forms to build the housing of sanitary latrines to prevent deadly disease already threatening Haitian refugee camps and communities," Greene said.  

The five metal forms headed to Haiti today will serve as a mold over which cement is poured to establish long-lasting, sanitary latrines - better than many sanitation systems communities had before the quake.  At a cost of $200 each, each concrete latrine takes one day to harden before the metal form can be deconstructed and used as the framework for the next latrine.  

Prior to the quake, some 97 percent of Haiti lacked access to safe water (WHO/UNICEF, 2006), prompting Water Missions International to begin work in the country in 2004.  However, the organization has tripled its work in the country since the quake hit with supplies in place to install 64 water treatment systems - enough to supply the daily water needs of more than 300,000 Haitians - the equivalent of delivering 2.8 million bottles of water every day for the next two decades.  Water Missions International hopes to be able to supply many more latrines in the coming days as budget resources allow.

"Sustainable clean water and sanitation are not only things we can provide in the moments following a disaster, but - if done right - it's something we can leave behind in crisis areas like Haiti...long after our staff and volunteers are gone," said engineer Pat Haughney in Haiti, director of international programs for Water Missions International.

"THANKS" FROM SURVIVORS

Water Missions International received its first "thank you" via email yesterday from a Haitian pastor whose school is serving as a refugee camp for 550 families surviving on clean water provided by one of the organization's self-sustaining water treatment systems.

"In the name of people in the camp of Basile secondary School in Carrefour(Bizoton 53), I thank you so much for your watr system drinkable installed in the camp. This is very helpful for us. We are very happy and we are going to make a good management of the system.  We have 550 families (each family has 6 people) in the camp at Basile Secondary School. Our neighbors come too in the camp to receive water . . . Peace and Love,  Fr.Michelet"

• Disease associated with contaminated water and sewage often claims more lives in the aftermath of a natural disaster than the initial impact.

• More than 5,000 children die every day around the world as a result of diseases caused by unclean water and poor sanitation. (WHO, 2008)

• An initial shipment of innovative latrine forms are in transport today to Haiti and are capable of providing five new, safe sewage systems per day for Haitians in refugee camps and communities around Port-au-Prince.  

• At a cost of $200 per completed latrine, these systems are better than many Haitian communities had prior to the quake with 97 percent of the country suffering from lack of access to safe water systems.

• 64 Water Missions International water treatment units being installed in Haiti can produce enough clean water to meet the long-term daily needs of more than 300,000 Haitians, the equivalent of delivering 2.8 million bottles of water every day for the next 20 years.

• $1.50 = the daily cost to operate one Water Missions Intl. solar-powered water treatment unit to meet the daily water needs of 3,000 Haitians.

QUOTES

Molly Greene, founder of Water Missions International

• "For our team, the race against the clock has moved from mere survival to preventing deadly diseases associated with contaminated water and sewage."

• "More Haitians could die in the aftermath than from the quake itself without ongoing access to safe water and sanitation solutions."

• "It's the difference between hours of clean water versus decades of clean water."        

• "Today, we begin transporting innovative metal forms to build the housing of sanitary latrines to prevent deadly disease already threatening Haitian refugee camps and communities in and around Port-au-Prince."    

• "Our team is busy installing and training local people to operate our long-lasting solar-powered water treatment units, each able to provide the daily drinking water needs of 3,000 people for at least the next 20 years."

• "Sustainable clean water and sanitation are not only things we can provide in the moments following a disaster, but - if done right - it's something we can leave behind in crisis areas like Haiti...long after our staff and volunteers are gone."

• "We have 550 families (each family has 6 people) in the camp at Basile Secondary School...I thank you so much for your watr system drinkable installed in the camp. This is very helpful for us...Our neighbors come too in the camp to receive water "
  

• "As engineers with a heart for helping, our team at Water Missions International is not satisfied with providing just a short-term solution."

• "Our clean water units are designed to provide a community with clean water for at least the next 20 years and to be easily operable by local residents.  These water systems not only ensure a community's survival, but expedite their recovery and help in establishing a viable economy and access to education.   Clean, affordable and sustainable water is the beginning of it all."

COVERAGE OPPORTUNITIES

• Interview engineers, clean water relief experts working in Haiti and stateside.

• Full-Circle Story: Volunteers - many retired engineers - working around the clock in warehouse of South Carolina-based Water Missions International providing for the clean water and sanitation needs of hundreds of thousands of Haitians (photos available).  Follow a clean water treatment unit or latrine from this warehouse to installation on ground in Haiti.  Water Missions International engineers in Haiti are available to demonstrate units.  Interview Haitian refugees whose communities are surviving on clean water and sanitation from units (photos available).

• Resources: High-res photos of clean water systems operating in post-quake Haiti. Demonstration of how water treatment system provides up to 6,000 to 13,000 gallons of clean water daily.

• For more details on water relief in Haiti, visit WaterMissions.org.

Water Missions International is a leading nonprofit engineering relief and development organization providing quick-response, cost-effective, sustainable clean water solutions to people in crisis areas.  Launched by engineering experts during Hurricane Mitch, Water Missions International has, since 2001, responded to the world's largest natural disasters including the South Asian tsunami, Hurricane Katrina, the China earthquake, Myanmar cyclone and Haiti earthquake.  With at least a 20-year operating span, Water Missions International's patented sustainable clean water and sanitation systems continue to provide those hard-hit communities with life, health and the basis for viable economies.  Currently providing sustainable clean water to people in 40 countries, Charleston, S.C.-based Water Missions International has received top ratings by Charity Navigator for four years in a row. 

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