Earth Day 2025: Here Comes the Sun!
Every year on April 22, the world comes together to celebrate Earth Day — a moment to reflect on how our choices impact the environment and how we can work toward a cleaner, more sustainable planet. The 2025 theme, “Our Power, Our Planet,” emphasizes the transformative energy within our communities and the choices we make. This year, one powerful story of sustainable progress is unfolding in Haiti, where solar power is fuelling not just energy, but hope, health, and human dignity.
The Power of the Sun, the Promise of Clean Water
In rural Haiti, access to clean and safe drinking water has long been a critical challenge. Many communities rely on unsafe sources, leading to preventable waterborne illnesses and lost productivity. HANWASH is an audacious, long-term initiative working to change that.
By building sustainable water systems across the country, HANWASH is partnering with local communities, government agencies, and international Rotary clubs to make clean water a reality for all Haitians. But clean water access needs more than pipes and pumps — it needs power. And in a country where reliable electricity can b e a problem, that’s where the sun steps in!
Solar Power: A Sustainable Solution for a Sustainable Goal
Haiti enjoys abundant sunshine year-round — a natural resource that’s now being harnessed to power HANWASH wells. Solar-powered water pumps are cost-effective, resilient, and environmentally friendly alternatives to diesel generators or grid-dependent systems.
Solar systems:
- Reduce carbon emissions, aligning perfectly with Earth Day’s mission to combat climate change.
- Operate reliably, even in remote or disaster-prone areas.
- Lower long-term costs, with minimal fuel or maintenance expenses.
- Empower communities, allowing them to manage and maintain their own water sources.
By investing in solar infrastructure, HANWASH is not just delivering water — it’s delivering a model of climate-smart development that respects both people and our planet.
The Ripple Effect
Every solar-powered well touches countless lives:
- Children can go to school instead of spending hours fetching water.
- Women gain safety and time by accessing clean water closer to home.
- Entire communities experience better health and economic opportunity.
This Earth Day, as we celebrate “Our Power, Our Planet,” let Haiti remind us that our greatest power lies in innovation, collaboration, and compassion. By connecting renewable energy with basic human needs, we aren’t just solving one problem — we’re creating a ripple effect of sustainable progress.
How You Can Help
Whether you’re a Rotarian, an environmentalist, or simply someone who believes in a better world, there’s a role for you:
- Support HANWASH: Donate or partner to bring clean water to more communities.
- Advocate for clean energy: Encourage policies and projects that support solar infrastructure.
- Celebrate Earth Day with purpose: Share stories like this to inspire others to take action.
🌱 Our Power, Our Planet isn’t just a slogan — it’s a call to action. And in Haiti, that action is sunlight catching a solar panel and transforming lives, one drop at a time.
Thanks to the donation of three solar lamps from FRAGER and with the help of their technicians, the Rotary Club of des Cayes offered the Hanwash GG 2 project in Cavaillon, poles and the payment of the technicians for the installation of three solar lamps, which will strengthen security on site.
Images and information provided by PDG Robert Leger.
