Awareness in to Action

This is Erick’s fifth Saturday meeting and he has them right where he wants them; on the edge of their seats, full of information and ready for the next step. With little encouragement they spoke confidently about how water is contaminated, how to treat water, and why hygiene is important. As they were obviously brimming with this new knowledge, we were curious and determined to better understand why 12-14 year olds were sitting at their school desks at 8 am on a Saturday morning.

A young boy, Zoyon, confidently shares the motivations of his group,
“So we can share what we have learned and to protect our families from sickness.”

After meeting two separate JEPA groups (Jeunesse pour la promotion de l’Eau Potable et l’Assainissement or Youth for the promotion of safe water and sanitation), Olivier and I were charged.

Despite the overwhelming challenges that confront Haitians today, Erick has kept these students engaged. The groups have an obvious potential for greater and broader Action. This WASH awareness project, that focuses on water treatment, hygiene and sanitation, is one initiative of CAWST’s WET Center program in Haiti.

Having a dynamic, engaging, motivated and committed individual like Erick working with the people of the Artibonite valley explains why PAIDEH (CAWST’s WET Center Partner) has been able to reach 7068 adults and children here in the last 1.5 years and consequently stimulated demand from local organizations for training in implementing Household Water Treatment.

Erick has already witnessed the impact of these JEPA groups on the families of the kids involved. “Monsieur Erick, what do I have to do to get a filter, because my son is bothering me?” one parent asks him. And that was the basis for forming JEPA groups, to have an impact in the kids’ schools and hopefully beyond. And that is exactly where Erick’s capacity to empower them comes in. They are now ready to be equipped to take their WASH awareness into Action.

The emphasis and agreement today was that to share a message successfully, one has to represent the message by example.

And they are right where they need to be, ready for Action.