I began working with Clean Water for Haiti in January 2003 after developing an association with them in 2002. It is a Christian mission dedicated to improving water quality for Haitians. We have two main project areas: 

• Biosand filter technician training
• Well drilling. 

Our operating principle is one of sustainability. The idea behind this principle is that if something terrible happened and we were forced to leave Haiti we would leave something lasting behind - perhaps even something that could continue to grow on its own. The tendency in Haiti is for projects to get destroyed and never be repaired again and it is not something we want to see happen to our water projects.

Biosand filter technician training

With the biosand filter project, we have chosen not to produce filters for distribution, but rather train Haitians to produce and sell filters. The filters are suitable to be sold to individual households, and a businessman can produce and sell filters at a reasonable profit. After the initial training of a technician our role becomes limited to that of advisor only. We allow market forces to determine the price of the filters.

Well Drilling

The well drilling project also needs to be carefully managed by sustainability principles. Most hand pumps in Haiti are broken and inoperable because the organizations which installed them didn't set up a system whereby the pump could be repaired or replaced. Before we agree to drill a well for a community, we must see that they have organized a water committee to facilitate the well drilling and care for the well after it has been drilled. The community must provide room and board for the well drillers while they are working as well as security for the site and equipment. Additionally, the water committee provides two people to be trained in pump repair. They also must raise about $200 to keep aside exclusively for pump maintenance costs. When the community assumes responsibility for the well it must use, it is far less likely to be destroyed.