Design Outreach To Pilot Lifepump In Northwest Haiti

COLUMBUS, Ohio - Sept. 18, 2015 - PRLog -- Design Outreach will soon implement its flagship pump, LifePump, in northwest Haiti. Design Outreach plans to work in conjunction with CPR-3, a missional movement that serves in crisis, catastrophe and extreme poverty through relief, development and rehabilitation.

Design Outreach will assist Bruce Robinson of ODRINO, a Haitian development organization working in the Moustiques River Watershed of northwest Haiti. Through ODRINO’s partnership with Protos, a Belgian NGO, it created the ODRINO Fountain to address many clean water issues within the area. However, the northwest is currently facing a devastating drought. Because of this, ODRINO is required to drill even deeper than its current rig to achieve water access.

According to Robinson, who has spent more than 30 years in northwest Haiti, “Water is scarce in normal times. This drought is the worst I have seen since I have been here. The last well we drilled went to 423 feet, which is way past where we would normally drill. We did not find water until 330 feet. Hand pumps will not work this deep.”

Robinson contacted Design Outreach to see if there was a way to use LifePump, which has been redesigned to last longer and reach deeper than common pumps. Greg Bixler, CEO of Design Outreach says, “The LifePump was created following a similar build as the discontinued Moyno pump, originally built by Robbins and Meyers. We used assistance from Robbins and Meyers to create an improved pump, known today as the LifePump.”

The need for deep-water wells in Haiti is a growing crisis, much like that in the Central African Republic, where Design Outreach has a growing presence. Bixler adds, “Recently, I’ve been in talks with the NGO CPR-3 that wants to pilot LifePump in Haiti too.” Because CPR-3 is currently stationed within Haiti, it was a natural partnership to assist the efforts of ODRINO of bringing relief to their water crisis.

The goal is to ship a LifePump from Design Outreach to northwest Haiti later this month in hopes of an October or early November installation.

For more information on CPR-3, visit www.cpr-3.com. To follow the latest projects of Design Outreach, visit www.doutreach.org.