Latrines for La Gonave

Our vision is to bring transforming change to La Gonave. To make it an island of prosperity. A prosperity defined not by income, but by basic needs like clean water and a family’s ability to provide for itself. A prosperity defined by not having to worry if your family will have something to eat today. A prosperity defined by families whose kids who are growing and healthy and learning, whose parents have a dignified way to provide for the needs of the household.

We carry no illusions. The needs of La Gonave are basic and severe. But, while our tasks are large, they are neither mysterious nor complex.  We know exactly what we must do.

Consider this: Essentially no households on La Gonave have a flush toilet and, astonishingly, fewer than 10% of the 10,000 families on the island of La Gonave, Haiti have even a basic outhouse latrine. This in a land where diarrheal illnesses (e.g., typhoid, hepatitis, cholera, etc.) are one of the leading causes of death.* Urination and defecation are done on the surface of the ground wherever and whenever the need presents itself, and without regard to, or even the understanding of the consequences to health and disease.

It’s obvious - any serious effort at restoring health and dignity bringing lasting change to La Gonave must start here, at this most basic level of human sanitation and hygiene.

Our vision:  A working latrine for every household on La Gonave.

Total need to get the job done: 10,000 family latrines.

As we move about the La Gonave’s villages, one of our starting points is educating their people on the importance of having a family latrine in order to prevent disease. All too aware of the ravages of cholera, villagers have been extremely receptive when we tell them how basic sanitation and hygiene measures can prevent the disease. Relieved to know that they can basically choose not to get cholera, they are taking us up on our challenge to them to build a latrine.

We have put out a challenge to them; if they will dig a deep latrine pit, we will provide them with the concrete with which they can build a base and toilet stool. We allow them to house their latrine, then, with whatever materials fits (corrugated tin, palm fronds, etc.).

The response has been overwhelming. So far, in just the first year of our challenge, 500 latrines have been constructed and are now in use.  One small village has 100% latrine use! This in a land where fewer than 10% of homes have latrines.

$20 will buy the materials to build a latrine for one peasant family

$2,000 will provide latrines for an entire 100-family village**

Please consider your part in helping us send shock waves throughout Haiti by making the island of La Gonave, the only part of Haiti where every single family has a working latrine!

*Cholera alone has claimed more than 7,000 lives since it showed up in Haiti just over one year ago. Nowhere in the world is cholera more epidemic, right now, than it is in Haiti. **100 households is the average size of a village on the island of La Gonave, Haiti.