Practicing Solidarity with Those Living with Water Scarcity

Please join us and numerous others who will be, for one day this weekend, practicing solidarity with the 1 out of 10 world citizens who do not have access to clean water. In 2011, only 48% of rural Haitians had access to safe, clean water and most of that access came from public wells like the ones Colorado Haiti Project installed in 2008.  The rest of the population in rural Haiti must get their water from contaminated rivers and streams.

  1. Place masking tape on all but one of your water faucets and your flush handles on your toilets.
  2. Gather vessels (pitchers, buckets and pots) to use as water holders for the day.  Be grateful they are clean and sterile. Around 700,000 children die every year from diarrheal diseases caused by unsafe water and poor sanitation – that’s almost 2,000 children a day.
  3. At the beginning of the day, fill all your vessels.  ALL the water you use throughout the day must come from those vessels–cooking, brushing your teeth, flushing the toilet (remember you taped all your handles), bathing, washing hands, etc.
  4. If you use all your water, please WALK around the whole block before refilling. If you can handle it, carry all your vessels with you. In Petit Trou, many people walk up to 15 minutes each way and must walk home with the full water vessels.
  5. As you go to bed, remember the 768 million people who live without clean water and the many more who have no water in their home.
Wynn Walent