Haiti Earthquake Relief

The Water Project has joined a coalition of water organizations who are coordinating our response to the crisis unfolding in Haiti.

We’re proud to be partnered with Living Water International (LWI) who is ready and able to provide immediate assistance to the people of Haiti.  They are on the ground now!

How to Help

100% of funds raised will go directly to the relief effort.

Stay Connected

We will post updates on Twitter, Facebook and here on our site as we receive them.

More about the coordinated response

LWI is mobilizing to help communities in Haiti restore clean water after the poorest nation in the Western Hemisphere was rocked by a catastrophic earthquake yesterday.

The massive 7.3 magnitude earthquake was the strongest to hit the country in 200 years and was felt as far away as Cuba. It brought down buildings including the presidential palace, hotels, a hospital, and the UN headquarters in Port-au-Prince, Haiti’s capital. Tens of thousands are feared dead.

LWI teams are already on the ground in the midst of unimaginable devastation to do what they can, but the problems for affected communities are only beginning. The most urgent need during the coming days and weeks will be water. Homes can take months to re-build, electricity can take weeks to restore, but people can’t last long without water.

Earthquakes destroy water systems. Pipelines break, electrical distribution systems fail, and hand-dug wells–—already questionable water sources–—are rendered useless or become contaminated with cholera, typhoid, and other waterborne diseases.

“In Haiti, clean water is a terrible problem even at the best of times,” said LWI Executive Director Gary Evans. “After a quake like this, it’s a crisis of epic proportions.”

The earthquake was centered about 10 miles west of Port-au-Prince. The quake was felt in the Dominican Republic, which shares a border with Haiti on the island of Hispaniola. Some panicked residents in the capital of Santo Domingo fled from their homes.

“This isn’t the first time we’ve been part of disaster relief in Haiti,” says Evans, referring to LWI’s response to the devastating hurricane season of September 2008, when four major storms including Hurricane Ike slammed the country. “But this could be the worst we’ve seen.”

LWI is leading a coalition of water organizations that are partnering to multiply their effect on Haitian communities. Partners include Global Benefit, Mercy Water (working with Nspire Software), Wishing Well, Hydrate Hope Project (through I AM CHANGE),The Water Project, and Safewater Nexus.

About LWI

LWI has been working in Haiti since July of 2004, repairing hundreds of community wells that had been incapacitated by overuse, vandalism, or natural disaster. New wells are now being drilled in areas that have never had clean water.

Operations are underway in the Cap Haitien area in the northeast part of the country and in Leogane, located near the capital of Port-au-Prince; In recent years, LWI teams have been in the right place at the right time, and have been able to help communities rebuild in the wake of Hurricane Ike and other natural disasters.

How to Help

100% of funds raised will go directly to the relief effort.

Stay Connected

We will post updates on Twitter, Facebook and here on our site as we receive them.