This gift in action
Even before the 2010 earthquake, Haiti was a difficult place to live because of natural disasters through to political upheaval.
During one political emergency, residents of Conasa, a poor area of Cap Haitian had their municipal water supply cut off. It hit people hard. They had to walk further and pay much more for often contaminated, unsafe water.
And sporadic outbreaks of fighting meant that it was too dangerous to venture far from home. So there were days when households were unable to obtain any water at all.
Oxfam worked with community committees to identify the neighbourhoods where the needs were greatest. These households received a card entitling them to three buckets of water – 15 gallons – per day.
Oxfam rented five tankers and several nearby cisterns to sell water at affordable rates, a process run by locally-elected residents. Residents like Servidieu Merilus saw an immediate difference: "This water is treated, safe and much cheaper. We buy water first and buy food with whatever money's left over. Now my family can have three meals a day. Until four weeks ago, before we started getting this water we would only eat once a day."
Servidieu Merilus says: "We use the water for cooking, washing and drinking. There are seven of us at home. Now we can afford to buy other things like oil, that we couldn't buy before. Water is our first priority. We buy water and then with what's left over we buy food. Having this water means we have more money left over to buy food. The family feels the difference that saving those 4 gourdes means. Now we can have breakfast, lunch and maybe even supper. This is part of the benefit of this water we are getting now. Until four weeks ago, before we started getting this water we would only eat once a day."