The Wenatchee Rotary Club is leading a District project through “HANWASH”1 (an acronym for The Haiti National Clean Water, Sanitation & Health Strategy.) The project will create a piped water system for the area of Ferrier, Haiti. Thanks to the support of our District clubs, initial engineering studies are done and we are applying for an RI Global Grant to complete the system.  We are looking for clubs to pledge funds to support the Ongoing Work!
 
HANWASH is a collaborative, national initiative created in 2018 by Rotary District 7020 (Caribbean), The Rotary Foundation and the Haitian Government’s National Water and Sanitation Agency (DINEPA),2 partnering with other NGOs such as Haiti Outreach and Operators Without Borders, committed to providing thoughtfully managed and sustainable clean water and sanitation to all the citizens of Haiti, along with the associated health, community and economic benefits. The goal is to meet the water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) goal of everyone in Haiti having clean water and improved sanitation by 2030. It was featured in the December 2018 issue of the Rotarian.
 
The HANWASH strategy is to start with 4 pilot projects to learn approaches which will enhance success at subsequent sites. Wenatchee Rotary is leading District 5060 as the “Champion” of the Ferrier project, which is fairly close to Milot where we have worked intermittently since 2010. The Club and the District have signed a Memorandum of Understanding with HANWASH about our role as Champion.

Each project undertaken within this program will deliver sustainable and safely managed water services in collaboration with local leadership, local Rotarians, and community members.

HANWASH and District 5060 are working to develop a sustainable safely managed water supply solution for the village of Artaud in the  Commune of Ferrier.
 
2022 Update: We were approved for a Rotary Foundation Grant for the first phase of a water system in the Ferrier region! This $490,000 grant will pay for a large well, holding tank, chlorination system, and piped water to homes in the village of Artaud. Subsequent stages will extend the piped water to 4 other villages with a total of over 5,000 people getting potable water piped to their homes at less cost than they currently pay to fill jugs from a traveling water truck. Your donations will help us with these additional phases of the project! Funds are held by Rotary until actual expenses are incurred and documented.
 
Fresh water is not locally available in Artaud, and there is no existing public water system in the area. Instead, private water trucks deliver potable water to local residents. For other uses (washing and cleaning), residents transport brackish water in buckets and jugs from hand dug wells and surface water sources. The goal is for a well with piped water and water meters at homes. Residents will pay less for water than their current costs for getting water from delivery trucks. We will provide leadership training as well as water-system operator training, such that the community will ultimately have a self-sustaining, self-governing water system.
 
NEEDED NOW are Clubs within our District to join us in this exciting pilot project. Clubs that want to take on an international project are desired! Individual Rotarians with an interest in sustainable international aid and/or water projects will be especially helpful. Anyone can participate by donating, by getting involved in HANWASH committees, or perhaps by going to Haiti! We also welcome other Districts and Clubs. Currently we have the support of 19 clubs in our District, plus 15 other Districts including New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, and Connecticut!
 
Tax-deductible Donations for the Haiti Hanwash project may be sent to:
Wenatchee Rotary Foundation
Attn: HANWASH
PO Box 1723
Wenatchee, WA 98807
 
More details
Water system. DINEPA analysis and Rotary review determined that the Ferrier water system will include a solar power supply for a Borehole (well) located inland, delivering water towards the coastal area that now has saline groundwater. The well will be sufficient to provide water for more than one village, such that the initial Artaud system stands as a foundation upon which to supply water to nearby villages of Meillac, Philibert, Mapou, and Bossus. Homes will pay for just the pipe from their meter to their homes. Water will be chlorinated and will be piped to households that subscribe to the system.
 
Ownership and Operation of the water systems. DINEPA2 will own each water system once it satisfies “FRAPE”3 criteria for infrastructure and is net revenue positive (self-supporting).
 
Financial management. The majority of funds are handled through the Rotary Foundation Global Grant structure. Some funds are handled by Donor Advised Funds, accounted for and overseen by 4 past RI Directors. HANWASH will be engaging corporate partners.
 
Capital expenditures are handled by the HANWASH finance & administration team, never through the government. Funds are released only after a full approval process for each step.
 
Serving the entire country – 145 communes (townships) – is likely to cost $1.3 - $1.5 billion. Each commune will require about $1.5 million and the process will be accomplished through both Global Grants and partnerships with other NGOs/governments/corporate entities. No District will be doing this alone.
 
Fundraising
District fundraising. Thanks to clubs like yours, we raised funds for the initial engineering studies, and have been approved (in 2022) for a Global Grant!  This will create the foundation (well, holding tank, chlorination system) for extending a water system to several other villages. Water will be piped to homes which will have water meters, such that residents pay for the water at a lower rate than they currently pay for water that comes in trucks. Money will be spent in steps as the project develops; each step must be approved by the HANWASH team and Rotary.
 
It is helpful to allocate as much District Designated Funds as we can, since that is matched dollar-for-dollar. Because the Rotary Grant structure is a series of matches, it is beneficial for individual clubs to donate since those funds are then amplified. HANWASH is assisting with large-scale fundraising. 
 
What specific kinds of on-site participation by our District 5060 members might be anticipated? Participation depends on our interests and expertise, including learning, involvement and/or observation of decision making, or even construction. We are welcome to visit Haiti/Ferrier, participate in weekly HANWASH phone meetings, and to be involved in discussions and plans. Rotarians could also serve on subcommittees such as the technical subcommittee. (Do you have to visit Haiti to participate? No! Can you visit Haiti to participate? Yes! (Pending travel restrictions. There are times that the US State Department recommends against travel.)
 
What is the general timeline and action plan? We anticipate the project for Artaud will be finished in 2 years. As this work progresses, we will be creating plans for the next segments of the project, to bring water to additional villages in the Commune of Ferrier.
 
What are the next stepsWe are looking for clubs to pledge funds to support the ongoing work!
 
Contact Carin Smith, the Wenatchee Rotary Hanwash Committee Chair to express your club’s interest in learning more and becoming involved!
 
HANWASH Contacts:
K. Neil Van Dine (our person on the ground in Haiti) Haiti Outreach Country Director, Hanwash Technical advisory committee Chair Rotary D9980 E-WASH Pignon, Haiti +509-3701-4017  https://www.haitioutreach.org/meet-k-neil-van-dine/
Jeremy S. Hurst Chair, HANWASH; Past District 7020 Governor 2013/14;  Leadership Training Chair, Zone Summit, Atlanta 2019; Zone 34 Assistant Rotary Coordinator,  ROTARY INTERNATIONAL
John Smarge (Naples, FL) is aide to Barry Rassin (President of RI for 2018-19 and Past District 7020 Governor). John has overview perspective. jsmarge@raythemover.com  239-821-4954
Wade Nomura Hanwash Grants Committee Chair. wadeDG1112@verizon.net Technical Coordinator of Cadres for Water and Sanitation for the Rotary Foundation (805)448-9912
 
1 HANWASH is an acronym for The Haiti National Clean Water, Sanitation & Hygiene Strategy. http://www.hanwash.org/
2 DINEPA is Haiti’s water and sanitation agency https://www.dinepa.gouv.ht/ (French)  (Direction Nationale de l’Eau Potable et de l’Assainissement). DINEPA handles country infrastructure but is not funded by Haitian government (thus is more stable).
3 The FRAPE survey is documenting the all water points (wells, springs, fountains, water systems) within each commune along with their flow rates covering these aspects: Functional, Responsibly Managed, Adequate Sanitation, Potable, Inspected, with 13 water quality parameters.
 
Each water project will have a local Rotary club "host," and an outside District "Champion."
For the Ferrier project, the outside District Champion is our District 5060. The host Rotary club is in Cap Haitian, about 35 miles from Artaud.
 
We have formed a District HANWASH committee. Sherry Chamberlain (2018 - 2019 District Governor) is our District Representative and Carin Smith is the Club Representative for HANWASH.