Renewed Hope in the New Year and Proud Reflections of the Past Year

It’s the beginning of a new year and the SOIL team is heading into 2023 with renewed hope and mindful optimism. Despite the ongoing political, social & health-related challenges of last year that significantly impacted our staff and our customers, there are also great achievements to celebrate, particularly among the members of our team in Haiti, who, despite the considerable hardships, worked tirelessly and together and didn’t lose hope. We are deeply grateful to each and every one. 

In October, when the first new cases of cholera were reported, SOIL sprang into action, understanding that our EkoLakay sanitation service is a critical part of mitigating this waterborne disease. Our Sanitation team learned to efficiently navigate daily roadblocks, consistent fuel shortages and insecurity, making certain that daily collections continued, unabated. Our Composting team continued to remain operational, ensuring that all waste was treated and that clean containers were ready and available for distribution, and our Sales agents, along with representatives from the Regional Office for Water and Sanitation (OREPA) and the Ministry of Public Health (MSPP) visited the most vulnerable neighborhoods in Cap-Haitien on the weekends, sharing information about cholera mitigation and promoting good hygiene practices.

But the team didn’t stop there! Since October, SOIL has quickly installed 300 new household toilets, ensuring that even more families have access to our life-saving sanitation during the current resurgence of cholera. 

And of course we’re not going to stop now. The containment and eventual eradication of the current cholera outbreak will take months and years to achieve. The political instability and economic distress in Haiti will not immediately right itself and we recognize that daily life for most Haitians will remain full of hardship for the foreseeable future. But, as we have since our founding 17 years ago, SOIL will continue to stand in solidarity with the people of Haiti.

We will continue to work to expand the reach and impact of our service, we will take care of our staff and our customers, and we will come together as a team no matter what comes next–supporting one another with creativity, bravery, and love. To live now as we think human beings should live, in defiance of all that is bad, is a powerful source of hope. And as long as there is hope, we will continue to work each day towards our vision of a brighter, greener Haiti in which every person has access to safe sanitation, a sustainable livelihood, and a promising future.

We are hopeful and motivated for the new year ahead!