September 19, 2013
Erik Badger

In previous blog posts we talked about GiveLove, an eco-sanitation organization co-founded by Patricia Arquette. Since 2010 we have been partnered with GiveLove to bring composting toilets to the schools we are partnered with. To date, they have installed these innovative toilets at the Children’s Academy and Henri Christophe Community School. They have also educated us about the importance of eco-sanitation and provided training to school staff and community members on how to use and manage them.

Today we had a special treat. Patricia Arquette herself visited the Children’s Academy and did an interview with Alex Myril, a co-coordinator of the Children’s Academy, to talk with him about how the project has been going. As Alex explains in this video, the school staff, students, and broader community have fallen in love with this new technology! As any visitor to Haiti can tell you, the latrines in the countryside can – how shall we say it? – leave something to be desired. Smells, bugs, poor lighting and ventilation… It’s not a pleasant experience, even for those who are accustomed. In contrast, the composting toilet at the Children’s Academy is virtually odor-free, spacious, well-lit and ventilated, and even has a water tank that collects water from the roof for washing your hands.

And, in Haiti, all this means more than just a better washroom experience. These composting toilets protect communities from potentially contaminated water that can result from traditional pit toilets, they produce high-quality compost that improves local soil and saves farmers the money of having to purchase it, and the environmental education GiveLove provides as part of the partnership teaches community member how and why it’s important to be eco-conscious and to protect their local environment.

And this is exactly what the Children’s Academy is about: working side-by-side with both Haitian and international colleagues through strong partnerships and innovation to affect long-term, community-based positive change.

Thank you GiveLove!