Why is Clean Water Important?

 

Clean water is a luxury many in the developed world take for granted. In Haiti two-thirds (66%) of people do not have access to clean water and are forced to make special provisions every day to have clean water to drink, cook with, and bathe. This lack of clean water prevents many young women and children from attending school and engaging in productive tasks, as they are forced to walk many miles every day to find clean water. Dirty water also contributes to the impact of water-borne diseases and poor health. Haiti currently has the highest child mortality rate in the Western Hemisphere with one out of eight children likely to die before the age of five.

 

Help change this reality in three easy steps: a group presentation, an experiential activity, and continued group engagement.

 

Remember that every situation is different and audiences will have varying wants and needs. For this reason, the following are purely suggestions. Ideas can be adopted in their entirety or simply used as a platform to create a customized approach. HAVE FUN WITH THIS!

 

Step 1: Presentation (this can be formal or informal)

Focus on making it:

 

• Educational and motivating

• Your ultimate goal is to inspire the audience to sponsor a clean water construction project in Haiti

 

Before the presentation begins you will need to distribute white and blue (water) index cards to all audience members. Index cards will be proportionally distributed with two-thirds (2/3) of cards being blue (water) cards and one-third (1/3) as white cards. Download a sample presentation script (.pdf download) to help guide you and view the template of the water index cards below.

 

The following suggestions can be used for your presentation:

 

• Begin with a Lambi Fund video and/or slideshow

• Provide a general overview/history of the Lambi Fund

• Give an update of Lambi Fund efforts after the earthquake​

• Describe the impact of a lack of clean water in Haiti

• Get the group involved by asking audience members to stand if holding a blue (water) card

• Inform the group that the proportion of audience members standing (66%) is equal to the number of Haitians without access to clean water – DO NOT RUSH THIS, let this disturbing statistic sink in as the audience gets a tangible feel for the magnitude of people affected by no access to clean water

• After the group engagement element, the speaker should describe to the audience how through the Lambi Fund the group can make a significant impact with the construction of a rainwater cistern.

• Share rainwater cistern details and download and show pictures

• Tell the story of the Women's Association of Tet Kole – Northwest (KFTK-NW) efforts to build 5 water cisterns found in our Spring 2009 Newsletter

• Close the presentation with an invitation to learn more and participate in a simulation of water toting after the service/program at a designated location

 

Step 2: Experiential Activity

 

Set up a table or booth decorated with Haitian cloth, photos, Lambi Fund literature, maps, and informational picture boards (request materials)

 

• Activity: Toting water

  • Designate an area large enough that visitors can pick up a water container and carry it some distance by walking in a circle or back-and-forth (the farther the better)…some Haitians walk over 2km a day.

  • The activity is designed to be representative of common water carrying chores in Haiti (See water toting details below)

  • Describe impact and details of daily water toting routine to participants and observers

• Develop a fundraising campaign that is feasible for your organization or group. For example, your church may decide to build 1 rainwater cistern. This fundraising goal will be $5,000.

 

Water toting details

 

• The UN suggests that each person needs 20-50 liters of safe freshwater a day to ensure their basic needs for drinking, cooking and cleaning are met

• The daily drinking water requirement per person is 2-4 liters

• The average household size in Haiti is 7 people

• This means that approximately 21 liters (3 liters x 7 people) is needed each day simply for drinking purposes, with 245 liters (35 liters x 7 people) needed for drinking, cooking and cleaning. In Haiti, however, the average daily water usage per person is only 15 liters of water.

• 21 liters of water weighs 46 lbs; 245 liters of water weighs 540 lbs; 15 liters of water weighs 33 lbs

• A typical jerry can will hold up to 20 liters of water, weighing approximately 44 lbs. To reach the UN suggested amount of clean water for the entire family, 13 full jerry cans of water are needed to provide 245 liters of water, with 7 full jerry cans needed simply for drinking purposes. To supply the below-average water intake per person for an average sized family in Haiti (15 liters x 7 people = 105 liters) over 5 full jerry cans of water are needed.

• Some Haitians walk over 2km a day to fill one water container

 

Step 3: Continuing Engagement

 

• Follow-up: set realistic fundraising goals and deadlines

• Throughout the course of the Water for Life Campaign, provide frequent reminders and calls-to-action

• Be sure to provide your group/organization with the complete list of ways you can help.

 

Please contact us if you are interested in pursuing a rainwater cistern fundraising campaign or if you have a different idea for what you'd like to do. Lambi Fund staff is more than willing to help accommodate your interests and will provide you with as much support as requested as well as the necessary materials catered to your specific group.

 

In addition, depending on the size of the fundraising project, multiple speaking engagements might be necessary to help motivate the group to meet its goal. Updates on fundraising amounts are often needed to help motivate the group to meet its target. See the Lambi Fund gift catalog for additional fundraising ideas.

 

As a Lambi Fund advocate you will need to consistently follow up with your group to ensure that progress is being made. The journey is not easy, but the result will forever change the lives of people in Haiti.

 

Impact of a lack of clean water

 

• Diarrheal illnesses and water-based diseases

• Acute diarrheal disease is the leading cause of death for children under 5

• High mortality rate: 72 deaths per 1,000 for children under 5

• Walking long distances to fetch clean water in intense heat and over rough terrain

• Monopolizes children and womens time, preventing children from attending school (high illiteracy rate — 47% illiterate) and distracting women from engaging in more productive tasks such as micro-business and community organization.

• All members of the family — young and old, male and female — participate in fetching water for the household. However, women and children are more often expected to fulfill this duty. Therefore, multiple trips per day are both common and necessary to provide the family with adequate clean water.

 

Rainwater cistern construction details

 

• A rainwater cistern provides a way to capture and store over 4,500 gallons of rainwater. The use of faucets at the base of the cistern ensures water purity and conservation, while easily allowing community members reliable access.

• One rainwater cistern costs $5,000