Bondye Renmen

Today was the day that broke me. Half of the team went to Pure Water to install the new generator we bought for them and to buy a table saw so they can make their own lids and save some money. The rest of us went to Grace Children's Hospital. They actually have a walk-in clinic, an eye clinic, a HIV and Tuberculosis screening and consulting area, a family planning program as well as the children's hospital. We went to paint beds and bed stands. We spent much of the day interacting with the children.

We did crafts, sang songs, delivered hospital gowns that were made by a group in Michigan. They wanted us to dress them in the colorful gowns, put ribbons in their hair and take photos. We gave them toys and they taught me to count and say my colors in Kreole.

Many of them have HIV, some are so advanced they have been taken off all meds. I spent the afternoon with a baby name Waterlove. He wanted to be snuggled and would pull at my arm if I wasn't close enough. He has all sorts of illnesses and will probably not live much longer. He was so beautiful. My roommate said afterward that she has a hard time seeing God in these circumstances and can't understand how He can allow it. I didn't have any good answer for her. All I know is that the older children spelled out a message with letter stickers on a foam cross that said Bondye Renmen and then their name. It translates: God loves...

Conviction

I am finding it difficult to find the words to describe the level of poverty and pollution that these people live with on a daily basis. This morning I had a conversation with a team member who described a photo opportunity she had missed. It was a beautiful purple flower growing in the middle of a huge heap of refuse and trash.

I feel this image perfectly describes the children we met today. We delivered 3 bio-filters to a rural school. This was an area of the most severe poverty I had witnessed. As we pulled up to the school, there was a beautiful bush of coral and pink flowers growing around a dilapidated building. The children came out to greet us. Their school uniforms, which all the children here wear, matched the bushes but in plaid. The were clean, well groomed, and very well behaved. The beauty of the children was in stark contrast to their surroundings.

The children showed us where thier current source of water is. It was a community hand pump a couple of feet away from a streams that could barely flow past all of the garbage.

I was brought to tears, and strongly convicted in the necessity of the project. I am certain God brought me here to return home and help to promote Pure Water for the World in any way I can. I wish I had a better internet connection so I could post some of the photos, but it will have to wait until I return home.

Here are a few photos of the filtration systems. Friday we were able to help install these into four schools. The program is designed to train the principals of the school how to use and maintain the system with a heavy emphasis on general hygiene. The schools are provided with informational posters to hang teaching hand washing and other ways to get clean water, including boiling. The children can take clean water home with them after school.



This was the installation I attended in City Soleil. The school is located in one of the most notorious part of the city.

It is hard to describe Port-Au-Prince. I have seen so much that it is difficult to process. The most outstanding impression for me is the complete lack of attention to basic safety. Not just the lack of safe drinking water, but the pollution, the roads, the food, uncovered sewer holes in the street. The rivers and streams look like landfills. The markets have eggs, meat, and fish are out in the hot sun all day. The only conclusion that I can come to is that because of the political destruction and hurricanes, the people are so focused on survival that everything else is ancillary.

The Pure Water organization has recognized the basic needs of the people and are working install these filtration systems in every school in Haiti within 10 years. They have over 1,000 so far and are making 350 per month. The demand far outways the supply.

Water, water everywhere

We went back to the filtration facility today and worked a little more today. On our break I went up to the third floor and discovered I could see out over a heavily polluted stream in a concrete canal. Six little boys went down to the water with jugs we assumed they were going to fill with water. We were wrong. They stripped and played in the water and sat on the jugs to run down the current. There was all matter of trash including a dead animal we assumed was a dog.

I was pleased to have a conversation shortly thereafter with Roman -- the facility manager. He told us that education on hygiene was one of the main goals for Haiti.

More later -- we are off to find Rum Raisin Ice Cream.

Port-Au-Prince

We arrived safe and sound in Haiti yesterday. The guest house we are staying at is very nice -- clean and sufficient. Today we were able to go to the facility where the water filtration systems are built.

The process is really quite simple. Concrete containers with clean sand to filter the water. Mona (the pastor from Galesburg who is traveling with us) and I were chosen first thing as we arrived to go on an installation. It was surreal being able to go to a school and see the children and the facilities on our first day out.

We jumped in a truck with the installers and drove to the worst part of the city -- the place, we were told, where the kidnappings and gang violence has occured -- referred to as the slums. It was quite an experience.

I have been designated the project photographer and will have a lot of incredible photographs to load when I return to the states and a faster internet access.

We returned to the site and hauled water and sand, and painted filtration systems.

Internet access is limited and others are waiting to communicate home...more soon.

Haiti

Well, I'm off again. Today I leave for Haiti. I have been given an opportunity to complete number nine on my life to-do-list (see Aug. 20, 2007 posting). I will be traveling with 13 other people from Michigan to work in Haiti on a water filtration project. If all goes as planned, we will help build water filtration systems that will be installed in local schools. Here are a couple of links with more information about what we are doing.

See the UMNS article at: http://www.umc.org/site/apps/nlnet/content3.aspx?c=lwL4KnN1LtH&b=2433457&ct=3708797

Rotary International http://www.wasrag.org/

Pure Water for the World http://www.purewaterfortheworld.org/

When my pastor returned from his trip to Haiti last February, he talked about the island, the difficulties the people face, and the work he did. When he talked about the impact on the kids, I knew I was being called to go. Although the planning and logistics were stressful for Pastor David, everything, for me, fell into place perfectly. My husband was encouraging and supportive, the timing couldn't have been better, and God provided a means for funding, within $.52.

I decided to start substitute teaching this year to fill in some of the times when I wasn't busy with photography. I wanted to earn enough to pay for the trip ($700) before Christmas. My year to date earnings for the week before Christmas was $699.48!

I am humbled to be given the opportunity to give a little back to the world, especially since God has blessed my family in so many ways.