Collaborative efforts between the Rotary Clubs of New Kingston, Jamaica, Rotary Club of Leogane, Haiti and Waves for Water, Global impact NGO implemented a water filtration projected that impacted 100 families across two parishes in Jamaica.
Jamaica is blessed. Our state-led utility is one of the better distributing agencies worldwide where we are able to safely drink tapped water. Despite this, there are Jamaicans living without potable water and we continue to face challenges as droughts worsen with climate change.
Clean Water is a Human Right!
The United Nations has declared that clean water is a human right, not a privilege. Access to safe water, sanitation and hygiene is the most basic human need for health and well-being. Yet, 2 billion people still lack access to safe drinking water. Countries are facing growing challenges linked to under-investment in water and sanitation and insufficient corporation on transboundary water.
Rotary, through its members, have tasked themselves to assist by whatever means necessary to provide access to this essential need. It is a fact that where people have access to clean water and sanitation, waterborne diseases decrease, children stay healthier and attend school more regularly, and mothers can spend less time carrying water and more time helping their families.
The human body requires a lot of water to maintain an internal temperature balance and keep cells alive. Let us remind ourselves of the Rule of three: a person can survive for three minutes without breathing, three weeks without food and three days without water. With a water only diet, a person’s survival time may extend up to three months.
So when we say clean water is a human right, we are speaking about a basic necessity provided by nature for our very survival. Without access to potable water we cannot enjoy basic education and literacy, we cannot achieve peace nor prevent conflict, we cannot ensure disease prevention and treatment, a safe environment nor maternal and child health.
Since 2013, The Rotary Foundation has invested in more than USD$130 million in over 2000 projects worldwide. Through this investment, our volunteers of action have improved access to safely managed and basic water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) services to communities, schools and healthcare facilities, while protecting and conserving water resources. Through the WASH programmes, Rotary’s people of action mobilize resources, form partnerships, and invest in infrastructure and training that yield long-term change.
In February of this year Assistant Governor Fritz Pierre Louis of the 
, Haiti along with a contingent from an international NGO, Waves for Water, travelled to Jamaica and partnered with the Rotary Club of New Kingston to provide water filters to 100 families in Jamaica. The team distributed water filter apparatuses to residents of Watt Town, St. Ann and of Mullock and Mount Diablo in St. Catherine. Rotarians bring a unique perspective to water projects that non-government organizations cannot. We have relationships with local leaders, and we know the needs and capacity of the communities we serve through community and impact assessments. Understanding the local culture, water sources and availability, and community resources are critical to the success of any project. As Rotarians are key to the design, planning and forecasting the Club engaged fifty (50) early childhood institutions with an approximate population of one hundred (100) children and sixty teachers each in the environs of Watt Town and the community leaders. In Mullock and Mount Diablo, 60 households with children under the age of 10 years old were reached. This investment of US$5000 with a total of 11,500 direct beneficiaries and approximately 34,500 indirect beneficiaries demonstrates Rotary District 7020’s dedication to humanitarian service, human rights and improving the quality of life for those who we serve.
The Rotary Club of New Kingston members commissioned needs assessments in these communities to effectively implement a project that will not only be sustainable but essential to improve health and wellness. This intervention not only provided for the opportunity for Rotarians to distribute the apparatuses but also to address matters of water, sanitation and hygiene in practical and meaningful ways. This was done through small group discussions with the beneficiaries. Matters addressed in these discussions included the importance of potable water, sanitation and hygiene for us as citizens as well as allowed for sufficient time in the communities to interact and garner a first hand knowledge of the challenges the residents face. The communities were chosen due to the ongoing challenges faced with accessing potable water for everyday living. However these one on one conversations strengthened the impact as we were also able to support the maternal and child health systems within the communities. We were able to engage with mothers about the health of their children and how access to cleaner safer water will aid in their wellness, better nutrition and in turn improve quality of education. Waves for Water and Rotary will continue to partner in its efforts to provide potable water to families across the world. The needs do differ regionally but the fact still remains: water is essential to life.