EKTA visited Haiti with water.org on a field trip to the Central Plateau region to review progress – an eye-opening, mind-expanding experience in sustainable development.

Villages where our wells are installed are required to form their own Water Committee to set standards, manage and supervise their community’s use of the facility. Before we transfer ownership of the resource, each community demonstrates that they have the resources through monthly collections from users to pay for its upkeep and long-term maintenance.

Many of our community organizations had no previous experience with banking, limiting their active engagement with the country’s economy. Our partners arranged for one of Haiti’s most active microfinance institutions, Fonkoze, to open a branch at their base of operations. Each community now has an active bank account with reserves to meet evolving needs, including a renewed interest in improving sanitation practices in their village. Multiply everything you’ve read above by 40 wells and that gives you an image of what’s been accomplished through EKTA’s partnership with water.org and their local NGO, Haiti Outreach.