OPDB/COPDPDS, Belanje

Belanje is a community which is home to a dynamic organisation that works both in supporting the area's farmers and managing a system of potable water for the community, and is home to an incredibly successful community-supported football academy.

OPDP (Organisation of the Peasants for the Development of Belanje) has only existed since 2010, but it already has 187 members and works in many domains: it has a youth section, where it provides professional training for the young men and women of Belanje; a women's section, in which it provides trainings and organises community service activities and financial solidarity activities; it has a construction sector, where they send youth to learn anti-seismic construction; and they have a farmer's section, who use konbit to clean the area's irigation canals, and for which OPDP provides access to subsidised seeds, a roto-tiller, and a community marketplace.

Working in partnership with OPDP is COPDPPD, which is responsible for clean water in the community. They assessed the poor state of clean water and sanitation in the area and decided to write a plan to resolve it. They got the support of an organisation called Helveticas Haiti, and were able to protect and capture a local spring and feed it into 2 cisterns and 5 community water points where they distribute clean water and collect community fees (10 gourdes a week) to maintain it. They are also currently building community toilets with Helveticas. 

Belanje is also home to a community football academy which is supported by community contributions (and contributions from the farmer's cooperative), and is so successful that it currently has two of its alumni playing for Haiti's national football team.