Aqua Haiti

80% of the population of Haiti lives in poverty. Almost 50% of the population has no access to clean water. Aqua Haiti is a Simbi initiative set out to support, promote, and finance the installation of water purification systems throughout the country. It was envisioned by the owners of SIMBI INC, a fashion accessories company based and run in Haiti. All of SIMBI INC.’s products are conceived and manufactured in Haiti.

The Aqua Haiti mission will aid the transparent flow of funds raised by SIMBI INC. for the purposes of installing water filtration systems. SIMBI INC., in turn was also created at the same time with the same purpose of eradicating water borne disease in Haiti. In 2010, the country suffered a devastating cholera outbreak, and most Haitians have either no access to clean drinking water or they cannot afford it. In Haiti, SIMBI is the water spirit. She is called upon to facilitate solutions to problems. Therefore, it is only appropriate to call upon SIMBI Inc. to help bring clean water to a population in desperate need.

Each Simbi Bracelet sold brings enough money to purify 1 gallon of water per day. A portion of ALL SIMBI sales from SIMBI INC, be donated directly to Aqua Haiti.

So far, we are proud to say that we have paid for and installed 2 water filtration systems. The first is in the second largest slum in Port-au-Prince called Wharf Jeremie. This system cost over $20,000 and was installed in a clinic at the height of the cholera outbreak. The clinic where it was donated, was receiving over 80 cases of cholera patients a day. Once the system was installed, it dropped below 5 in just one week. The owners of SIMBI INC. are still paying for 3 water trucks (10,000 gallons) to be delivered to this clinic each and every day to this date, and plan on doing so as long as we can. This will continue to save lives every day.

The second system is installed in a small seaside community call Montrouis, 60 miles North or Portau- Prince. It is located at a very close proximity to where the cholera outbreak emerged. It was installed in an orphanage and is run by the local community. It provides water to the orphanage/school and purified water is sold to the local community at a minuscule cost to raise enough funds to keep the generator running and for general maintenance. Again, without this system in place, diseases would affect many more Haitians.

We also work with a local company, DLO Haiti, which has water kiosks throughout the country to provide affordable purified water to its community. Simbi funds a program to deliver daily rations of clean water to carefully selected schools in the neighborhoods. This program is very important not only for the students health, but also to aid in the learning process by hydrating the children sufficiently. Studies show that proper hydration is a key factor in memory retention. We are proud to be working with DLO Haiti in this venture.