Eos supports sustainable water initiative in Haiti

Eos Positioning Systems has donated an Arrow Gold GNSS receiver to Haiti Outreach, a 21-year-old nonprofit organization dedicated to helping Haiti become a developed country.

Haiti Outreach collaborates with individual Haitian communities to create and maintain access to potable water through community outreach, well digging and distribution-network development.

The Arrow Gold GNSS receiver helps Haiti Outreach build and improve potable water distribution networks by providing accurate subfoot elevations required for hydraulic modeling simulations, the company said. It uses Atlas satellite-based corrections to provide real-time decimeter (three to five centimeters) location throughout the country.

“Water is life, and making this basic necessity available to every person is at the foundation of Haiti Outreach’s work,” said Eos Positioning Systems CTO Jean-Yves Lauture. “I believe strongly in Haiti Outreach’s long-term vision to empower Haitian communities through development, education and cooperation.”

Haiti Outreach first began in 1997, with a mission to bring clean water to more people in Haiti and encourage them to take on the responsibility of maintenance and sustainability. In 2005, the organization shifted its focus toward greater community outreach and support, developing a program much more effective at producing the desired long-term outcome. Its community-led initiatives are heavily planned and prioritized, thanks to comprehensive field data collection and advanced geospatial analysis, Eos said.

“In most of these communities, there has only ever been a short-term vision, because the need has always been urgent,” Lauture said. “Haiti Outreach is changing that mentality. They are providing a development plan for now and the future. This is a slow process but is already proving successful. It is a true privilege to be able to support such noble efforts.”