Inaugurating the Household Toilet Project in Shada

Last Friday the SOIL teams from both Port-au-Prince and Cap-Haitien came together to celebrate the official launch of the Household Toilet Project in Shada. The event was a great success, with participation from SOIL, DINEPA, Re.Source, KOSS, and many community members. The program began with comments from Theo Huitema, SOIL’s Regional Director for Cap-Haitien, and from Executive Director Sasha Kramer. Representatives from KOSS, Re.Source, Konbit Sante and DINEPA also made presentations, with charismatic emcee-ing from SOIL agronomist Romel Toussaint, who oversaw all of the presentations with flair!

The program also included a skit that humorously demonstrated the benefits of safe sanitation and good hygiene by chasing away “cholera” with soap, bleach, and finally a whole SOIL toilet! The day concluded with the whole group coming together to sing a song about handwashing, reminding adults and children alike of the importance of always washing your hands after using the toilet.

Overall, the day was a great success, with enthusiastic and moving participation from community members, SOILies, and all the other organizations represented. For the SOIL team, the day was an incredibly important milestone, and a big step towards our goal of achieving 100% sanitation coverage in Haiti. Check out photos below, and a brief video clip of the official “ribbon” cutting!

More videos can be found on SOIL’s Youtube page, and plenty of photos are available through our Flickr.

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