The students at the Espwa community school in camp Perrin, Haiti, walk up to two hours to have their lessons, but when they arrive, there is often not enough drinking water for them. LWF, NCA and local partners are working to change that.
Ludny sitting on a piece of their destroyed home. In the background is the family’s makeshift house. Photo: LWF/ P. Raymond
LWF, NCA set up water and sanitation infrastructure
(LWI) - Clean toilets and water to wash and drink are still a luxury for the students at Ecole Lespwa in Camp Perrin, Haiti. The Lutheran World Federation (LWF) and partner Norwegian Church Aid (NCA) are setting up proper water and sanitation infrastructure and training the children to adopt good hygiene habits.
Camp Perrin in the South Department of Haiti is a rural community of 32,000 inhabitants and has been heavily affected by the earthquake in August 2022. Many families still live in provisional shelters, many schools have not yet been rebuilt. In addition, the social insecurity in the country hinders the rebuilding of essential infrastructure.
A school of hope
Ecole Lespwa (creole for "School of Hope") is one of the few institutions still running. Its 324 students come from the surrounding communities and walk between 30 minutes and two hours to attend their lessons, but when they arrive at school, there is often no water to wash or to drink. The dry compost latrines smell bad, not encouraging the students to use them. It is difficult for older girls to practice proper menstrual hygiene, which puts them at risk of missing school.
The entrance of Ecole Lespwa . Photo: LWF/ P. Raymond
One such student is Ludny, a 16-year-old girl from a mason's family in Constant which is two hours walk from Camp Perrin. The 7th grader is by far the oldest in her class because her family often could not afford the 25 USD school fee per year for her and her seven siblings. Thanks to a sponsor from the community, she now has a chance at education, and she is determined not to miss it – even if that means getting up at five o'clock every morning, so she can do her chores before starting her long walk to school. When she comes home, she often has nothing to eat, either because there is no food available, or because she is expected to start cooking dinner for the family.
"When the children arrive in the morning, they are thirsty," Principal Duval Emmanuel says. "But because we have no clean water, the students must go out and buy drinking water most of the time." Principal Emmanuel recommends that the children bring their drinking water from home, which is almost impossible for students like Ludny, who have a long walk and no money to buy bottles.
Agents of change
The LWF/NCA “Green School” project at Ecole Lespwa of Camp-Perrin will address all these problems. The compost toilets will be switched to flush latrines allowing better maintenance and use, eliminating odors. The project will also provide access to clean water by building a drinking water point. The green school project will make 400 liters of potable water available daily for the school, making it possible to cook meals for the children as well.
Aerial view of Ecole Lespwa. Photo: LWF/ P. Raymond
These improvements come with lessons on good hygiene practices: use of latrines, hand washing, and only drinking safe water. "It is widespread that the households in remote areas in Camp Perrin practice open defecation," explains Prospery Raymond, LWF Country Representative in Haiti. "They contaminate the spring water and other household water resources, resulting in diarrhea and other waterborne diseases."
We hope they (the children) will take these lessons home and help improve the lives of their families and their communities.
Prospery RAYMOND, LWF Country Representative, Haiti
Ludny dreams of a schoolyard with games. As she likes to read, she wishes to have a library in the school. She is very determined to make the best of her situation.
"We consider the children agents of change," Raymond adds. "We hope they will take these lessons home and help improve the lives of the entire family and their communities."
