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Haiti is one of the
poorest countries in the Western Hemisphere. She gained
her independence in 1804, but the history of the Haitian
republic, even her modern- day history, is wrought with
political turmoil. Haitians struggle for the basic
necessities of life. When the 7.0 magnitude earthquake
hit Haiti on January 12, 2010, the country was
paralyzed. We watched in horror with the rest of the
world. A lack of clean, safe drinking water became a
humanitarian crisis.
The Need: Safe
Water
Global Effect had
the life-saving solution for Haiti across the border
in the neighboring country of Dominican Republic.
Through our transformation work in El Ranchito, Soto
and Los Rieles un La Vega, Dominican Republic, we
learned that contaminated water was one of their
greatest struggles. In search of a solution, we
discovered the simple, yet effective,
technology of
FilterPure Filters.
Their ceramic filters eliminate 99.9% of
contaminates in unsafe water. They offered a viable
solution, and one of their manufacturing facilities
was located in the Dominican Republic. A natural
partnership was born.
Our Response:
Distribute Life-Saving Water Filters
Just days after the
earthquake, Global Effect and FilterPure
began
transporting ceramic water filters from the factory
in the Dominican Republic across the border to
Haiti. We quickly recognized the immediate and
ongoing need in Haiti for thousands more water
filters. The logistical and transportation
challenges to and from the Dominican Republic was
not a sustainable solution. The obvious solution
was to build a factory in Haiti.
Our Solution:
Build a Water Filter Factory
Our search for a
location to build a factory led us to Jacmel, Haiti.
We call Jacmel “the Jewel of Haiti.” Located on the
southern coastline of Haiti, Jacmel has a vibrant
art culture and is known for its ceramic and pottery
artisans — an ideal location for
FilterPure’s
ceramic water filters. Prior to the quake, Jacmel
attracted some economic finance and was experiencing
some urban revitalization. While they suffered
heavy damage, their hopes and efforts continue
following the quake.
Our business plan for
the Global Effect Filter Factory (GEFF) offered Jacmel a
small step toward their urban revitalization efforts
post-quake. The city of Jacmel welcomed us. In
partnership with FilterPure,
we worked with urgency and thanks, in part, to the
generous support of Wine to Water, the factory was
completed in April 2010. We hired and trained Jacmel
residents to manage and produce the ceramic water
filters and plan to use Jacmel as the primary
distribution center in Haiti.
We
began filter production in May 2010. The new factory
plans to initially produce about 1,500 filters per
month. GEFF’s production capacity is poised to increase
as funds become available for more equipment.
How Can
You Help?
The ongoing
maintenance of the factory, production and
distribution of the filters is funded by the
supporters of Global Effect. It cost $35 to produce
one filter, and one filter provides a family five
years of clean, life-saving water. A generous
donation of $5,000 enables us to double our monthly
production of life-saving water filters.
Please help us distribute
these filters to families in need with a donation
now.
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