Terre Rouge is located in the commune of Pignon, in the north of Haiti. It’s a small community of 30 homes and 176 people residing in those households. To get their water, they only have one source, a stream that they call “Coulot” which translated literally means “flow”. Since the slow-moving current is located in a hole in the ground, only one person can fill a bucket at a time, and it takes about an hour by foot to reach Coulot to gather their water twice a day. Yes – it takes at least four hours a day just to get water – a basic necessity!
One Sunday morning in July, a young community member, Marceline, was on her way to the Coulot when she encountered a man who was also arriving to get water. Both parties were tired from the hour long walk and wanted to be first get their water. The two got into a fight over who would fill their bucket first. Enraged, the man began throwing stones at Miss Marceline and left her severely injured. After two days in the hospital, she is on her way towards recovery. Nevertheless, people’s safety should not be compromised just to get water!
Fortunately, the community of Terre Rouge is undergoing their three-month training with Haiti Outreach. When they have a well that is closer to their homes and will be protected by a guard, there should not be any more issues like the one Marceline encountered. A clean water well will save hours of walking every day for Marceline and others in her community.