PWW Team Member Highlight: April 2022
This month, we are featuring another member of PWW’s staff. This gives you the opportunity to get to know our team a little better and gain an understanding about what makes them such a special part of PWW’s safe water programs.
PWW Team Member: Vildens Dorvilier
PWW Office: Limonade, Haiti
Position within PWW: Program Coordinator
Years with PWW: 6
How did you first learn about PWW?
From the former Country Director at PWW, Mario André. He was a volunteer at our university at that time.
What are examples of tasks you do in your current position with PWW?
Most of my time is focused on PLOC, the basics of management. To be more specific, I Plan, Lead, Organize and Control activities/projects along with the team. Additionally, I conduct data analysis. I put surveys and/or questionnaires together and add them to our software program, Kobocolect, so that the team can use them on tablets and collect data in the field. I then validate, clean, and process the data so that we can use it effectively to measure our work, identify areas that need improvement, make informed decisions, and support fundraising.
Analysis is my favorite task. Information is key for any individual or institution to make the right decisions. With my work as an analyst, PWW can access important data to support and make informed decisions and deliver effective programs.
Please share a favorite story that you have experienced while working with PWW?
One of my favorite experiences has been working with the water quality lab. When we are conducting monitoring of our projects, we take water samples to test from family homes, where we have installed water filters. This is, for me, the stage where you see true results of PWW’s intervention. It is exciting to see, from different test results, where things are going as planned, where you need to improve training, and where you may need to get another sample to confirm results.
As an example, let’s say you have three different samples for the same family: one from the family’s original water source, one from the water that comes out of the filter, and one from the safe water storage bucket. Normally, you should only see E-Coli in the water source; the water from the filter and in the storage bucket should be E-Coli free. If you have a presence of E-Coli in the storage bucket, there is a problem with the cleaning of the storage bucket and/or a recontamination issue that needs to be addressed. This is an important insight for us and for the family and can then be addressed with additional training.
How has your understanding of “clean water” changed during your time working with PWW?
I don’t know if you have heard about the word Zuzu in Haitian Creole — the translation would be “picky”, in an extravagant manner. This is how I would explain the way my understanding of “clean water” has changed. I don’t even trust the water at my family’s new home, and I have asked Junior to run tests to make sure my family is using safe water! Note: Vildens just moved to Limonade from Port-au-Prince.
What is something you have learned during your time with PWW that you didn’t know before?
That my family and I are lucky to have the knowledge and financial means to make the best decisions regarding safe water, hygiene and sanitation. That unfortunately, these basic needs are not available for everyone. It shocks me to know that some people are dying from unsafe water and that human activities have polluted both surface and underground water.
What do you like to do most when you are not working?
Spending time with daughter is one of my favorite hobbies since my family and I have moved to the north (Limonade, Haiti) with PWW.