Haiti: Town celebrates access to drinking water, launch of Scout group

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Source: Fides

While Haiti remains immersed in a deep crisis, the small mountain town of Pourcine has found reasons to celebrate: the arrival of drinking water and the launch of its first group of Catholic Scouts.

"In the parish of Our Lady of Help, 70 children, young people and adults have participated in the inauguration of the KIRO movement, a Catholic branch of Scouts. It was a weekend of training, games and songs," Father Massimo Miraglio, Camillian missionary and parish priest of this community in the mountainous hinterland of Jérémie, told Fides.

Meanwhile, the construction of the aqueduct continues with the help of the local population, who transport materials, often on foot and barefoot. "Although the bad weather has slowed down the work, we have reached the water tanks," reports Father Miraglio. "While the connection of the reservoirs and the main pipeline to the springs of Pourcine is being completed, residents have begun to drink water from a temporary pipeline, a moment of celebration for the community that can now access clean water close to their homes."

"This is being done always with hope and with the aim of building an increasingly united, supportive and willing to work together Christian community," Fr Miragio said.

Local agencies report that after a period of relative calm, the 'Viv Ansanm' gang coalition has intensified its attacks in the suburbs of the capital Port an Prince recently. They now control up to 80% of the capital. This violence has aggravated food insecurity, with transport routes blocked and the countryside taken over by gangs. Despite the approval of the UN Security Council to deploy a multinational force to support the Haitian police, the operation lacks the resources and personnel necessary to deal with the crisis. The Haitian transitional government has asked that this force be transformed into a UN Blue Helmets peacekeeping mission, but this initiative has not gone ahead. In addition, gangs that previously mainly attacked Haitian police, militias and government infrastructure now appear to be targeting foreign mission vehicles.

Amid this chaos, forced displacement has also increased. More than 10,000 Haitians left their homes in the last week alone, and last September the number of displaced is estimated to have exceeded 700,000, almost doubling in just six months.

Watch a short clip of the celebrations: https://youtu.be/7wBWrrEGvms