Together with the Arbeiter-Samariter-Bund (ASB), we support those affected by the severe earthquake in southwest Haiti. The earthquake with a magnitude of 7.2 has claimed at least 2200 lives, injured thousands and destroyed infrastructure. Help is urgently needed, also considering the threat of tropical storms and diseases.
"The start of the storm season in Haiti last month has further compounded the situation for the people there. Especially with regard to water-borne diseases, a basic supply of safe drinking and service water is all the more important here," says Katja Laudemann, Head of Foreign Programmes at arche noVa. "This is where we are now providing urgently needed emergency aid together with our partner organisation ASB."
At the end of August, arche noVa has handed over three drinking water treatment plants from its emergency relief storage to ASB as a first step. These were then flown from Cologne to the disaster area. To ensure a particularly sustainable use and smooth operation of the systems, local ASB employees have already been trained in the correct installation and maintenance of the so-called skyhydrants. With this expertise, the drinking water systems are now being used as mobile water stations in areas particularly affected by the earthquake.
The skyhydrants can be used to treat contaminated raw water, for example from open wells, through ultrafiltration. Per unit, up to 500 litres of urgently needed, clean drinking water can be obtained per hour and around 500 to 1000 people can be supplied with it every day. In addition to this effort in securing the supply of safe water, arche noVa supports further emergency relief actions of the ASB. The needs for this are currently being clarified on site.
Please support our emergency relief efforts in Haiti with a donation.
