ROTARY and OPERATION ENDEAVOR serving together in Cap Haitien, Haiti to improve survival with 1,000 lifesaving Gift Of Water filtration systems!
UPDATE
On February 10, 2018, the Liberty Rotary Club, working hand-in-hand with the Cap Haitien Rotary Club, Gift of Water and Operation Endeavor, completed the distribution of more than 1,000 water filtration systems to 1,000 families in Cap Haitien, Haiti, in connection with their Haiti Clean Water Program. As a result, thousands of residents of Cap Haitien now have clean, potable water – many for the first time. Operation Endeavor has assessed the health of more than 200 of the families in order to provide a base health assessment of those families prior to their use of the systems, and it will continue to monitor their health throughout the life of the Program in order to document the health benefits provided by the clean water produced by the systems.
In Haiti, only 57.7% of the population has access to improved drinking water, and only 13% have piped water on premises. Lack of clean, potable water has lead to high incidences of cholera, diarrhea, dehydration, and other water-borne diseases; many also die. In an effort to combat this deplorable and preventable situation, OPERATION ENDEAVOR is teaming up with the Liberty Rotary Club, the Cap Haitien Rotary Club and Gift of Water to make a difference in Cap Haitien, Haiti.
The Liberty Rotary Club, together with the Cap Haitien Rotary Club, has created the "Haiti Clean Water Project", which will provide 1,000 water filtration systems (which are designed and manufactured by Gift of Water) to 1,000 Cap Haitien families.
The water filtration system is comprised of two plastic 5-gallon buckets. Five gallons of water and a 67 mg chlorine tablet are placed into the top bucket, at the bottom of which is a polypropylene string filter connected to a check valve. After 30 minutes, the top bucket is placed onto the bottom bucket (into which a 17 mg chlorine tablet is placed). The water from the top bucket then flows through the nylon string filter and the check valve, and then through a granulated activated carbon filter attached to the check valve at the top of the bottom bucket. Once the water passes through the granulated activated carbon filter and mixes with the 17 mg chlorine table, it is clean and potable. The system is inexpensive, durable, mobile and easy to use.
The Project will also hire, train and pay technicians to meet bi-weekly with the 1,000 families to test the water, check the systems, provide any needed supplies, answer questions and prepare monthly reports. The Project is being funded by donations from members of the public and monetary support from Rotary Districts 7210, 7020, 7410, 7230 and 7490, with matching funds from a Global Grant from the Rotary Foundation (the approval of which is pending).
OPERATION ENDEAVOR will conduct a baseline health assessment of a statistically significant sample of the beneficiary families prior to their receipt of the water filtration systems. After distribution of the systems, OPERATION ENDEAVOR team members will meet with these families on regular intervals over the life of this Project to track the health metrics, illness, comorbidities and mortality of the members of these families. By gathering this data, we will be able to objectively establish the positive impact of this Project by demonstrating the decreased incidences of water-borne diseases, diarrhea, dehydration and death as compared to families in Haiti who lack clean, potable water.
Specifically, OPERATION ENDEAVOR has committed to:
A. Provide detailed briefings on the situation of the region of Cap Haitien, Haiti including, but not limited to: current sociopolitical center of gravity and variables in stability, cultural and ethnic background of the people, degrees of disparity and challenges facing the people. The briefings will have a culturally and anthropologically inclusive sensitivity, coupled with input from sources such as the U.S. State Department, Haitian professional partners, and Rotary Haitian contacts.
B. Conduct a baseline health metrics assessment of the selected recipient families (projected to be 1,000 family units) who will be receiving the Gift of Water filtration systems prior to deployment of the systems.
C. Conduct recurrent assessments of the Gift of Water recipient families to provide longitudinal tracking of health metrics, illness, comorbidities and mortality. Records of health will be maintained by the OPERATION ENDEAVOR, Inc. Public Safety and Community Health and will be incorporated into analysis to demonstrate the impact of incorporating the water filtration systems, insofar as waterborne diseases and the effects of drinking and consuming unclean water are concerned.
D. Coordinate all team insertions, transitions and lodging at secure accommodations for Liberty Rotary Club members who will be traveling to Cap Haitien to review the project and conduct meetings with the Cap Haitien Rotary Club and representatives of Gift of Water (who will be instrumental in training the technicians and providing demonstrations to the families selected, at the time of distribution, in the use of water filtration systems and general hygiene).
E. Provide oversight and tracking of all team insertions with domestic Mission Control crews who will monitor the activities of the OPERATION ENDEAVOR, Inc. deployed team and Liberty Rotary Club personnel through standardized check in communications facilitated by satellite communication and GPS locater tracking, thus ensuring a high degree of safety and security, while maintaining the ability to mobilize resources for any medical situation or traumatic injury. Mission Control teams will be able to coordinate emergency medical services for team members in country, and also air medevac services as needed to return team members to the United States.
F. Coordinate air and ground transportation resources domestically and in Haiti to ensure delivery of water filtration units and transportation of deployed team members as necessary to support the project.
G. Coordinate translation services through utilization of OPERATION ENDEAVOR, Inc. translators, or other translator sources that are verified.
H. Assist in video documentation of the phases of the project and assistance in film production to promote awareness and appreciation for scope and impact of the project.
I. OPERATION ENDEAVOR, Inc. will conduct pre-briefings and post-briefings of all team deployments so as to prepare people for the situation of extreme poverty in Haiti, and then assist team members upon return to the United States to have a positive transition through identification of any signs or symptoms of physical travel-related illness or post-traumatic stress-related conditions with referral to appropriate medical Providers.
All of the above will be provide at no cost to, or use of, project funds.
