FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Pure Water for the World Announces New Location in Northern Haiti
Rutland, VT – February 1, 2022. Matt Korn, Executive Director of Pure Water for the World, Inc. (PWW), announces the organization has moved its Haiti offices from the capital city of Port-au-Prince to Limonade, a town located near Cap-Haïtien, the largest city in the northern region of the country.
PWW opened its doors in Haiti in 2008, serving schools, orphanages, health clinics and hospitals with clean water filters, as well as providing education to schools and communities about safe hygiene and sanitation practices.
After the devastating earthquake on January 12, 2010, PWW shifted focus to emergency response, reaching children and families heavily impacted by the disaster. Following the earthquake, cholera was introduced into the waters of Haiti, resulting in widespread illnesses and deaths. PWW advanced its commitment to serve Haiti’s most vulnerable citizens by expanding safe water and hygiene programs to reach individual family homes in communities that were affected by cholera and other deadly waterborne pathogens.
Today, PWW partners with underserved communities in Haiti, delivering safe water and hygiene education programs to families and working closely with community members to increase engagement, understanding, and efficacy. PWW continues working in schools and health centers, consistently expanding efforts to implement comprehensive water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) programs. These programs include clean water filters, rainwater harvesting systems, gender-specific latrines, handwashing stations, hygiene education, teacher training, and long-term monitoring and evaluation.
Since 2019, PWW operations out of the main office in Port-au-Prince have been significantly disrupted by political, economic, and social unrest. This unrest was further exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. PWW’s work in and around Port-au-Prince has become increasingly difficult, with consistent travel to the project sites virtually impossible.
PWW’s expansion of work into northern Haiti, which began in 2017, has not realized the same disruptions. The organization has made consistent progress, including effectively launching and implementing a program in 2021 that reached 400 families with reliable access to WASH resources.
In 2021, following extensive research and evaluation, the PWW staff and Board of Directors determined the most effective way for the organization to continue its mission in Haiti was to transition the main office to the north, where the need for clean water and sanitation is significant. Haiti staff members, many of whom have been with PWW for more than 10 years, will join the organization in the north to establish the new base of operations.
“The relocation to Limonade will allow the dedicated PWW Haiti team to operate in an environment that will foster our commitment to working with communities for the long-term,” said Korn. “Already having years of experience working in the north, we are excited for this next chapter knowing that, through well-established community relationships, the work to bring safe water to families will carry on as planned.”
Nearly 70% of Haitians lack reliable access to water that is safe for consumption and usage. Waterborne pathogens are a leading cause of death each year, most heavily impacting children under the age of 5. The most effective solution to this health crisis is to ensure everyone has sustainable access to safe water, proper sanitation, and good hygiene.
PWW’s mission is to improve lives by empowering people with access to life’s most basic necessities: safe water and sanitation. The organization does this by partnering with underserved communities, in Central America and Haiti, providing the tools and education to establish sustainable safe water, sanitation and hygiene programs.