11 Dec 2012

HAITI / WATER

In the Haitian city of Petit Goave, a UNICEF-supported effort has built a new water system that delivers water to a central station where it is treated to guard against cholera and other diseases. Today marks the launch of UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon's Initiative for the Elimination of Cholera in Haiti. UNICEF

Posted at: December 11, 2012 4:29 pm

Duration: 02:09

Available in: SD

DOWNLOAD

Full script

STORY: HAITI / WATER 
TRT: 2:09
SOURCE: UNICEF 
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / CREOLE / NATS
 
DATELINE: 23 OCTOBER 2012, PETIT GOAVE, HAITI

SHOTLIST:
 
23 OCTOBER 2012, PETIT GOAVE, HAITI

1. Wide shot, pile of mud next to sign in street
2. Close up, giant pipe at bottom of ditch; man with shovel behind pipe
3. Wide shot, side view of white truck with long blue pipe in back
4. Close up, circular cover bolted to blue pipe
5. Close up, older woman wearing hat, standing
6. Close up, older woman preparing food
7. SOUNDBITE (Haitian Creole) Tayet Rousseau, Mother of three:
"Water plays a huge role in our lives. You cannot do basic activities without water. I use water to prepare food, to bathe, to wash clothes. Water is so important."
8. Close up, girl filling water jug
9. SOUNDBITE (Haitian Creole) Tayet Rousseau, Mother of three:
"Before it was a big issue because there were water shortages. We used to spend three days with no water. It was a real problem. We couldn't do many activities."
10. Wide shot, distant mountains
11. Med shot, short water fall
12. Wide shot, water fall and stream
13. Med shot, man standing on cement wall
14. Med shot, cement structure with "reservoir" sign in front
15. Close up, two plastic jugs
16. Close up, blue metal pipe
17. Close up, water meter
18. Med shot, room full of pipes; two people standing at back of room
19. Close up, blue pipe and wheel to open/close pipe
20. Close up, curving blue pipe with measuring device atop it
21. Close up, rusty old pipe standing vertically
22. SOUNDBITE (English) Sebastien Renou, French Red Cross:
"We need to protect what is existing and very old. This is the main objective of the French Red Cross. The second aim is quality. We have to protect the sources and the water tank and make water treatment to give potable water."
23. Med shot, women gathered at water tap
24. Med shot, man heaves shovel full of dirt from hole
25. Med shot, men unloading big blue pipe from back of white truck
26. Med shot, two men stand talking in front of dirt piles
27. Med shot, street scene; motorcycles pass through
28. Med shot, small house with line of laundry strung outside.

STORYLINE:
 
Haiti's 2010 earthquake destroyed the water system of Petit Goave, a coastal city near the quake's epicenter.

The aging iron pipes that brought fresh water from the mountains into the city were damaged beyond repair.

The water system has now been rebuilt with new pipes through a UNICEF-supported effort with the French Red Cross.

One of the beneficiaries is Tayet Rousseau, a mother of three whose business selling small goods was destroyed in the earthquake.

SOUNDBITE (Haitian Creole) Tayet Rousseau, Mother of three:
"Water plays a huge role in our lives. You cannot do basic activities without water. I use water to prepare food, to bathe, to wash clothes. Water is so important."

She now has a water tap -- delivering clean, safe water -- to her front yard.

SOUNDBITE (Haitian Creole), Tayet Rousseau, Mother of three:
"Before it was a big issue because there were water shortages. We used to spend three days with no water. It was a real problem. We couldn't do many activities."

The new system, like the old system, begins at the source -- in the mountains above town. Fresh water provides a good start.

The French Red Cross then installed new pipes, and built barriers, where needed, to protect against erosion and mud slides.

The water is delivered to a central station where it is treated, to guard against cholera and other diseases, and diverted throughout the town.

Meters measure the flow. The water can be shut off and diverted to different areas at different times, thus avoiding long shortages, and also protecting the system if repairs are needed. This safety measure was not present in the old system.

Sebastien Renou is an engineer with the French Red Cross, and has been working on the project since shortly after the earthquake.

SOUNDBITE (English), Sebastien Renou, French Red Cross:
"We need to protect what is existing and very old. This is the main objective of the French Red Cross. The second aim is quality. We have to protect the sources and the water tank and make water treatment to give potable water."

Besides providing the people of Petit Goave with a safe, reliable water source, the project aims to give them jobs. Much of the work on the ground is being done by DINEPA, Haiti's National Authority for Water Supply and Sanitation, which also controls the project.