Haiti Earthquake Relief Campaign

Your $100 Will Give Water to 15,000 Haitians Today.

We need your help right now in Port-au-Prince!

The earthquake knocked out many neighborhood water tanks, but 28 have survived. However, no water is coming to these tanks from the local water agency (CAMEP).

So Dalebrun Esther – our Haitian Director – has designed a system to supply water.

Two big pumps – in Cite Soleil and Tabal – are producing hundreds of thousands of gallons of water. Dalebrun is renting 10 water trucks each day to take water from these two pumps to surviving water tanks.

He pays each trucker $100 a day to make 5 trips to water tanks in poor neighborhoods. Each truck holds 3000 gallons and 5 loads make 15,000 gallons per day for each truck.

With 10 trucks, Dalebrun is delivering 150,000 gallons to poor neighborhoods in the city each day. And, he is restricting each person to 1 gallon per day.

We are sending more money to Dalebrun to hire more trucks for this effort.

Every $100 can hire one truck per day for 15,000 people.

Before the quake there were some 200 water trucks in the city. We are not sure how many survived, but we will encourage Dalebrun to hire as many as he can. In the first three days after the quake, Dalebrun himself delivered 20,000 gallons using our small truck.

But, it is far more effective to rent the trucks of 3000 gallons all day long. With your help, we will fill the surviving tanks, reach neighborhoods with no water access, and even supply schools.

As soon as possible, we will shift to rebuilding the damaged tanks and making new 1600 gallon tanks in our fiberglass factory which we are shipping to Port-au-Prince.

With appreciation for your help,

Lidnsay Mattison and Youngmin Chang

Relief Efforts are Only Beginning - Jan. 21, 2010

As of yesterday, Dalebrun had obtained 2 truckers. Today, there were 10 truckers made available (We hope for 14 tomorrow). Dalebrun has continued to make trips, serving nearly 35,000-40,000 Haitians with one gallon of water or less per person. Other water areas, such as MAC, are providing minimal water even with plastic bags.

The Haitians are grateful for the water, but also remain agitated. The dilapidated jail has allowed for many criminals to escape making it difficult to maintain order. Additionally, Dalebrun has found it imperative to acquire staff for protection purposes. Although he is still negotiating the salary, he said he might spend $1,700-$1,600 on the new staff. We went through the list of water tanks and he told us which ones are broken but function, which ones are totally broken, and which ones are undamaged. Your help can greatly support our efforts.

Updated News: Shipping to Haiti - Jan. 20, 2010

Getting any resources to Haiti in this time of need is still difficult, as most ports, airports, and banks remain closed. We have been able to successfully send money to our Haitian staff using CAM money transfer. We are very grateful to the Dominican Republic Red Cross and INAPA who are coordinating to help us with shipping a truck and water tanks to Haiti. Clinton Global Intiative has also volunteered to help us coordinate shipping and allow resources to get into Haiti as quickly as possible.

Updated News from our Haitian staff - Jan. 19, 2010

Our Haitian director, Dalebrun Esther, is busy distributing water to as many neighborhoods as possible. Dalebrun says that CAMEP officials would be willing to assist in his effort to distribute water to the population, along with truckers from privatized companies.

He knows of two water sources that are working and has identified 28 public water tanks that are in good enough shape to hold water. He has hired additional workers and is tirelessly working to get water to as many people as possible.

During these desperate times, International Action has collaborated with other officials to support this worldwide effort. Arch Chemicals, a chlorine and biocides manufacturer, has been working with IA to transfer water purification supplies to desperate areas.

Your help and generous donations will help our staff and suppliers to provide clean water to the victims of the Earthquake in Haiti. Please support this work.