CHILDHOOD: ACCESS TO WATER

TAISHA'S STORY:
A young girl avoids cholera because of a water project in Haiti.

At 4 years old, Taisha walked barefoot down dirt roads carrying heavy, plastic jugs of water. Her hair was tinged orange, an unmistakable sign of malnutrition. For Taisha and her family, limited access to food and virtually no access to clean drinking water and sanitation posed a deadly combination. 

Taisha and her brother used to walk alone down a dirt road to collect water.

This story is not unusual. In fact, Taisha and her family represent a majority of Haitians. A staggering 70 percent of the entire population lacks direct access to clean water. And fetching and carrying water in Haiti is mostly the work of women and children, who typically walk 10 to 30 minutes each trip carrying heavy buckets of water.

Lack of access to clean water and sanitation leaves millions susceptible to waterborne diseases, including the deadly cholera epidemic that has sickened over 530,000 people and killed more than 7,000 since October 2010. The village of Mosambe, where Taisha and her family live, was not spared. In an isolated community of 2,000 people, nearly 10 percent of the population—at least 185 people—required medical attention after falling sick with cholera.

Children like Taisha and her siblings who live in poverty are especially vulnerable because malnutrition and frequent bouts of illness often leave their bodies and immune systems too weak to combat deadly waterborne diseases.

Across the world, at least 2,700 children die of water-related diarrheal illnesses each day. One million children die each year, nearly all of them under the age of five. The UN predicts that unclean water and insufficient sanitation will account for roughly 10 percent of the world’s disease burden and 6.3 percent of all deaths in 2012.

Working with communities to filter water

In response to this crisis, Partners In Health and the nonprofit charity: water are bringing filtered water and sanitation facilities to poor communities across Haiti. Their goals: keep people—particularly vulnerable children like Taisha—from becoming sick and reduce the workload and risks of injury faced by children and women carrying water long distances.

One of the large water kiosks placed in the center of the small village of Mosambe.

In late 2011, the community of Mosambe went from having no access to clean water to having four community kiosks—large facilities that house both fountains and showers. The partnership has also delivered eight stand-alone showers and 40 biosand filters to individual households that allow them to filter their own water. PIH and charity: water are also working to improve sanitation by building 50 dry latrines.

Taisha and her family can now obtain clean water both from the community kiosks and with a biosand filter in their home. Partners In Health also built a dry latrine behind the family home, which converts dangerous waste into valuable fertilizer that can be deposited without the threat of contaminating the local water supply.

Water projects are one of the most effective ways of saving lives and one of the most cost-effective investments in disease prevention. Potable water projects typically reduce diarrheal disease by more than 50 percent.

The health and safety benefits of clean water

Beyond the effort of collecting water and the likelihood of it being contaminated, time spent walking and resulting injuries and diseases keep mothers and children from school, work, and taking care of their families.

Along their long walk, girls like Taisha are at a greater risk of harassment and sexual assault.

Hauling cans of water for long distances takes a toll on the spine and many women experience back pain early in life.

In providing access to clean water, Partners In Health and charity: water create opportunities for women to pursue new projects and improve their families’ lives and for children like Taisha to earn their education and build the future of their communities.

Learn more about PIH’s water projects.