In August 2006, a group of young people from the village of Duchity formed an organization called AJPD – the Association of Youth for Duchity. Their goals were to build a public composting toilet in the village, develop a community garden, and embark on other projects for the village.
They began to meet regularly and plan. In January of 2007, a pilot team came from Milwaukee, Wisconsin to work with them. Together they studied the current poor state of sanitation in the village and discussed possible locations for a public toilet. While the American partners returned home to raise funds, the Duchity youth began digging and planting a garden.
In May 2007, enough funds had been raised to build a large, dry composting toilet at Lekol Nasyonal, the public school of Duchity. This schools serves 550 students, and the deep-pit latrine that was available was in a terrible state! No one used it anyway. After a week of hard work, a beautiful new toilet was built!
When the leadership team sat down to review their accomplishments, they realized they had a dream – for youth in every village to have the satisfaction they had, to dream of something and with the help of partners, see it come to life! And so, OJPDD was born – Organization of Progressive Youth for Development of Duchity – not limited to one village, or one toilet, but a dream for a greener Haiti for all!
OJPDD volunteers continue to build toilets in and around Duchity. But they also have begun to build bridges to youth in other communities. The youth of Beaumont have joined as a second “chapter.” The youth of Plen Maten will work alongside them, building a toilet at their school. And we dream of the day when every village has a youth group called “OJPDD” who will help to build their country stronger, cleaner, and greener.
OJPDD Accomplishments:
- March 2007 – community garden was planted in Duchity
- May 2007 – double dry-composting toilet built at Lekol Nasyonal in Duchity
- July 2007 – public dry-composting toilet built at the bus station in Duchity
- December 2007 – dry-composting toilet built for the orphanage in Trou Bois
- December 2007 – the Beaumont youth become a second chapter of OJPDD
- January 2008 – tree nursery in Duchity was begun for reforestation
- March 2008 – dry-composting toilet built at Plen Maten
