Creativity and Innovation Abound: Haiti Network Goes Virtual

Last month the Living Waters for the World (LWW) Haiti Network held a virtual Initiating Partner (IP) Summit, bringing together initiating partners across the U.S., Haiti team members, LWW staff, and the Network Coordinating Team (NCT) to discuss the general state of Living Waters for the World, the current state of Haiti, and to receive a status update from Jean Ancy Fils-Aime, in-country director for the network.

Steve Young, LWW executive director, updated everyone on LWW, encouraging them to come together as we determine a path forward given the current state of the world, praising the in-country staff for their leadership and willingness to take on more work and responsibility during the pandemic. Steve is optimistic for the future of LWW noting, “We are in God’s hands and that God wants all children to have clean water.”

Kendall Cox, LWW director of education, and Jeff Wagner, LWW director of operations, discussed how LWW has adapted to the pandemic environment, providing opportunities for teams to continue attending CWU virtually and encouraging teams to make a concerted effort to reach out to the operating partners to keep lines of communication open. Both Kendall and Jeff emphasized the importance of all our partners knowing they are in our hearts and minds and are not forgotten in this difficult time. LWW is making sure that the safety of our staff and partners (IPs and OPs) is in the forefront as it executes its ministry around the world.

The pandemic continues to challenge the Haiti Network and IPs to sustain and expand the ministry creatively. Virtual installations of water systems were discussed and while developing a new water project remotely poses challenges, it allows IPs and OPs to build relationships and provide clean water during these difficult times. Earlier this year, the Haiti staff created its YouTube channel to help people feel interconnected, to reinforce that people care about what is happening in the world, and to provide ongoing education for staff and partners in the field. The channel is a platform for sharing system reports, photos, and other documentation to staff, OPs, and IPs in one centralized location. The channel can be accessed on YouTube at LWW Haiti.

LWW Haiti Network staff

Amidst all the uncertainty and turmoil that COVID, along with the impact of social and political unrest and natural disasters, have introduced over the past 18 months, the Haiti Network continues to thrive with new additions to in-country staff and the emergence of our first in-country IP. Haiti saw three new systems come on-line in 2020/2021 bringing purified water to people who need it badly. Ancy Fil-Aimes' report, that highlighted the individual strengths that each team member brings to the LWW ministry in Haiti, was truly inspirational. The summit represented how LWW is working to keep people connected, especially during the pandemic, by bringing relationships back to life through virtual channels.

The Haiti NCT meets bimonthly to discuss current activity in Haiti as well as brainstorm new ideas to better bolster relationships with IPs and OPs and the in-country Haitian team. If you’d like to learn about how you can be more involved in the Haiti NCT, please email Bob McCoy. If you’d like to financially support the Haiti Network, consider becoming a Cupbearer and designating your monthly gift to the Haiti Network.

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