Above: A school in Leogane

By the Caribbean Journal staff

The Haitian commune of Belloc will get its first communal water centre on Thursday, thanks to an initiative from the ONE DROP Project Haiti.

The new centre means residents of Belloc, which is located in the Leogane district, can access new centralized water points. The centre houses several filtered water fountains, as well as showers for men and women and a wash house for laundry.

The installations will be fed by a solar pump and managed by a local committee.

“The communal water centre represents a new and unique opportunity for the people of Belloc to act as responsible citizens and commit to managing and maintaining a communal asset that is essential to life,” said Yves Gattereau, project leader based in Leogane.

The project is a joint initiative between ONE DROP, OXFAM-Quebec and the United Nations.

ONE Drop was set up by Guy Laliberte, founder of Cirque de Soleil in 2007.

The launch of the centre, which coincides with World Water Day, will be accompanied by a multidisciplinary show called “Ayiti Pawol Lapli ak Lakansyel,” which deals with water issues.