Kathiana, a 10-year-old girl from the north-eastern department of Haiti, walks to school every day with her older sister. When she gets home, the first thing she does is set off to fetch water from the nearby river.
Challenges of water collection
“I usually collect water the day before and store it for the next day, so I don’t have to do it before school, although sometimes it keeps me from doing my homework,” she explains.
Haiti faces a major challenge in providing clean, accessible water, especially for children. This lack of access to water affects their health, education and general well-being.
Kathiana and her sister currently live with their grandmother in a safer part of the country. “I have to wash the dishes and fetch water. I don’t cook, but my grandmother always makes me something to eat. My favourite food is rice, peas and vegetables,” she says.
Hope for a new water pump
Although the river is relatively close, the news that Plan International was planning to install a water pump in the village created a lot of excitement. “With the new pump, it won’t take me too long to get the water. It takes us 15 minutes to get to the river and at least 30 minutes to come back with the water. But the arrival of the pump will help,” Kathiana says.
The new water pump means a safer and shorter journey for Kathiana, reducing the risk of violence that many girls face when travelling long distances to fetch water, and giving her more time for her studies and other activities.
Kathiana recognises the importance of education and says she enjoys studying at school. “My mother pays for my studies. I like reading the most. After my studies, I want to be a doctor,” she says. “If there’s one message I’d like to give to young girls like me, it’s not to have boyfriends and to stay in school.”
Dreams for the future
If given the chance, Kathiana says she would like to develop the educational facilities in her area, although she is unsure of the exact steps to take. “If I were president of Haiti, I would change the schools,” she says, indicating her desire for better educational opportunities.
Kathiana’s story illustrates the challenges faced by many children in Haiti, particularly in terms of access to education and basic necessities such as water. Plan International is working to improve these conditions, including through the installation of hand pumps, which play a crucial role in improving the safety and well-being of girls like Kathiana.
How Plan International helps
Since November 2022, Plan International has built and repaired 16 hand pumps in the North-East department, and this year we launched a pilot project to introduce solar pumps to replace hand pumps.
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