March 13, 2010 – Upcoming Projects in Grande’Anse

Thanks to recent donations, and especially a grant from the Jewish Coalition for Disaster Relief, we were able to plan 3 new public toilets to be built in the next month.   As areas in the countryside absorb internally displaced people, the need for sanitation and increased agricultural production are increased.  Every area I visited in Grande’Anse reported hundreds of new people returned to the area.  We will build a toilet in Les Caves in conjunction with a seed bed that we started while I was there.  We will build a toilet in Fonderon at a parish and school that serves 300 children, and finally, we will build a toilet in the mountain area of Lakadoni, where La Hotte Coffee is grown.  In each community we will provide hygiene education and agricultural training in the use of dilute urine as fertilizer, and the development of household vegetable gardens.
I also visited the community of Tozia, about an hour’s walk from Duchity, and did a one day mobile clinic with Dr. Michelet, the local doctor in Duchity.  I met the local nurse and the health agent, who are very concerned about the health of their community, and the impact of the lack of sanitation.  We will begin conversations with them as well, perhaps beginning with establishing Arborloos and education programs.
I was contacted by groups in Camp Perrin as well, who would like to put in dry toilets for a youth center or school, in an area that has absorbed many internally displaced people.
The need and demand for ecological sanitation is great.  Every day we are contacted by communities who are interested.  Some times we are able to partner with other organizations to provide funding, but often we are looking for our own resources to help these communities.  This is where your support is crucial!  We thank you again for your continuing support.