Action by Churches
Together May 2, 2005
(ACT) - Switzerland
Website: http://www.act-intl.org Mapou, Haiti,
Right now, Janita Lendi has two choices. She can walk two hours to the
nearest water source, stand in line, fill her five-gallon bucket, and
then walk back two hours carrying the bucket on her head. The other
option is to pay seven Haitian gourdes (about 18 U.S. cents) to fill
her bucket when water is available from a neighbor’s small reservoir.
But the water is not good for drinking, and seven gourdes for a
five-gallon bucket of water is not cheap, considering almost 60 percent
of Haitians live on less than one U.S. dollar a day and 75 percent on
less than two dollars. Janita and her family go through three or four
buckets a day (or about 20 gallons), which only a fraction of the
average individual American’s daily consumption of about 150 gallons.
Janita sits on a small, wooden stool in front of the
crackers, candies, bread and corn seeds that she sells by the side of
the dirt road in front of the elementary school in the village of
Mapou. She’s wearing a vibrant, multi-colored scarf around her head, a
blue shirt, and colorful skirt. “The water situation is hard - very
hard - but you do what you have to do,” she says with a smile that
registers both resignation and defiance.
The Lutheran World Federation (LWF)-Haiti is more than halfway through
a project funded by members of Action by Churches Together (ACT)
International that will make Janita’s life considerably easier. Within
a few months, she will have access to excellent mountain spring water
that is a ten-minute walk from her house and costs only half a gourde
(a little more than one cent) for five gallons.
In May 2004, during flooding caused by heavy rains, she and her
family lost all their livestock and crops. She, her husband and
children ran to higher ground just as the water rushed down from the
barren mountain slopes, long ago denuded of their trees. Everything in
their home was wiped out, except for the foundation and the walls.
Janita says she has heard about the project, but her realistic nature
won’t let her get too excited yet. “The plan sounds great,” she says.
“It would be a very big help. We’re praying to God that the water will
come.”
The water will soon arrive near the homes of Janita and
15,000 other beneficiaries via 8.3 kilometers of polyurethane pipe as
part of this project that involves capping a spring further up the
mountain. Janita’s needs are plain and simple, but the solution is
complex.
The project started in response to severe flooding that struck this
area on May 23 last year. More than 2,500 people died. About 1,700
homes were destroyed, with another 1,700 damaged. More than 80 percent
of the agriculture was destroyed, as well as most livestock.
LWF/ACT was involved in the immediate emergency-relief
efforts, distributing food, water, clothes and medicines. Soon after
the flooding, there was also a significant road-repair project, which
provided work for many people in the area. But it was quickly evident
that water was an immediate and long-term need. A mediocre piping and
reservoir system that reached some people in the area was wiped out by
the floods. People were forced to walk long distances to get
poor-quality water that in some cases resulted in people and animals
becoming ill and even some dying.
Residents of the area knew of an excellent spring in a remote place
farther in the mountains, so 22 days after the floods, LWF/ACT began a
study to see whether it could bring this supply of water to the Mapou
area. Their conclusion—the same one many other international
organizations had come to over the years—was that the terrain and
technical challenges were too difficult. It couldn’t be done.
Tommy Galbaud, a Haitian LWF/ACT engineer, was part of
this early feasibility study.
“All the other engineers in the past who had studied this thought it
was impossible,” says Galbaud. “People in the area started having a
sort of defeated spirit about water. Water was such a big daily
problem, but nobody could find a way to improve things. Our first
conclusion was the same: This is impossible.”
Today he stands at the source in the mountains, on top of the completed
concrete “spring box” and under the shade of lush trees whose fortunate
roots are anchored in this generous spring.
He smiles as he continues, “But before giving up, I wanted
to do some final checking. The main problem was crossing a
50-meter-deep ravine. I asked people in the area if anyone might know a
way to get across or around the ravine. They introduced me to an older
man named Familus Marcelin. He took me up the mountain to an area
covered by trees, then cut some brush away with a machete to show where
the pipe could run along the mountainside. But I was still doubtful,
because the path for the pipe would have to be about the same height as
the source—between 800 and 850 meters. I had my GPS [global positioning
system] with me and took it out to measure: 837 meters.
Perfect!”
The LWF/ACT team then came up with an innovative, if somewhat daunting,
plan that is now more than halfway complete. The plan (see sidebar),
while involving eight different parts, illustrates the experience,
expertise and can-do attitude ACT members like LWF in Haiti apply to
difficult problems that often surface in disasters. And solutions to
these problems would not be as effective without the invaluable
contributions of local residents with their own intimate knowledge of
an area and their willingness to take ownership of the solution.
From the small, rustic house where the LWF/ACT project
team is living, you can look up and see the waterfall and hear the
rushing water. Last night the rain fell hard for only the second time
after several months of unyielding dryness. So this morning there
aren’t many women and children walking to the source. They get a
reprieve for a couple of days as they use water collected off their tin
roofs.
The waterfall is part of a beautiful natural scene, but in the way of a
painting—a kind of abstract or artistic beauty. Not that God’s natural
splendor is to be discounted, but there are more pressing needs around
here. And amid this project’s challenges is the prospect of something
even more beautiful and tangible than a natural waterfall: channeling
that clean, fresh water via polyurethane to thousands of families like
Janita’s.
The eight-part plan for obtaining life-changing, clean
water
Following flooding in Haiti a year ago, the Lutheran World
Federation-Haiti, ACT’s member there, responded in a variety of ways.
After some of the immediate and basic needs were provided for, LWF/ACT
began to look for solutions to one of the longer-term problems – the
difficulty in finding accessible, clean water. While the problem was
identified easily, the solution proved to be much more complex, but
once completed, this project will provide life-changing and
life-sustaining water to thousands of people.
First
the source had to be capped. This involved building a
six-by-ten-meter concrete box around the spring to keep the water pure,
capture it and send it down the mountain in pipes. The source is
unreachable by vehicle. It’s a 30-minute hike up steep, difficult
terrain.
Second
a road had to be repaired and parts of it built. This road
has made it possible to truck the needed materials up near the source.
Materials are carried on foot from there. Work on the road has been a
source of jobs for local residents in a country where more than 60
percent of the residents are not formally employed. Also, this improved
infrastructure will contribute to the area’s long-term economic
development.
Third
8.3 kilometers of polyurethane pipe 16 centimeters in
diameter near the source and 10 centimeters in diameter farther down
the mountain needed to be laid. The pipe came in 82 pieces that weighed
a total of 12,629 kilograms. The pipes (100 meters each) couldn’t make
it all the way up the mountain by truck, so the last stage of
transportation involved cutting them in half so they could be carried
up the mountain by teams of fifteen men.
Standing down in the plain below the source, one sees a vein of exposed
dirt and rock running about halfway up along the length of the mountain
to the right of the spring. The pipes are buried under the vein of dirt
and rock to protect them. More than four kilometers, by far the most
challenging half of the pipe work, have already been laid. The next
section will move down flatter, safer ground rather than along a steep
mountainside.
A local engineer, Roldophe Jean, from the nearby town of
Thiotte (where LWF has a large coffee project), is wearing a
construction helmet and saying how proud he is of the project. “None of
my friends and nobody around here thought it was possible,” he says,
pointing up at the vein along the mountainside. “But look!”
Fourth
the pipes need to be linked to 19 kiosks built throughout
the area, which is where residents will eventually go to fill up their
buckets. The kiosks will be managed by a small committee in each
community.
Fifth
a reservoir will be rehabilitated and another will be
built along the distribution lines. From these reservoirs, lines will
continue distribution to Mapou and the surrounding communities.
Sixth
the long-term viability of this water source will be
studied. Violaine Bault, a young French woman who is a hydro-geologist
doing an internship with LWF, is looking at soil samples and area
practices of planting and livestock grazing. This is the first step in
coming up with a reforestation plan that will ensure long-term
viability of this 27-square-kilometer water basin that ranges in
elevation from 2,300 meters to 900 meters at the spring and that is
very steep in parts. Erosion must be prevented because a water basin is
basically a huge reservoir inside a mountain.
More trees and the right crops—as well as building
erosion-protecting rock walls—mean more soil will be retained. More
soil means that more rainwater is absorbed. This rainwater then
eventually filters down through the soil into the mountain reservoir.
Such reforestation measures are essential.
The eighth steps involves helping with community organization. A
community organizer, Gerald Salomon, is educating people about the
health importance of clean water and working full-time to organize and
prepare communities to manage the water source and distribution system
when it is complete.
The LWF/ACT pipes will reach the communities of Machas, Grand Fond, Ka
Conté, Tiplace, Bois Tombé, Nan Roc, and Nan Didier. By charging
half a gourde per bucket, the project will generate annual revenue of 2
million gourdes, based on annual consumption of 20 million gallons of
water in all the benefiting communities. This US$50,000 of revenue,
overseen by a central committee, makes the project sustainable by
providing money for employment, repair, and expansion of the
distribution network to other communities.
By the time it’s finished, about 200 women and men will have worked on
the water system and about 240 people on the road project, most of them
in two-week shifts. This provides people with much-needed income and
also builds community support of the project.
The engineer in charge of the road project is Guerline
Pierre, who is also from the nearby town of Thiotte. “By involving
people in the labor, we’re building support in the community,” she
says, “and helping them to see how the project benefits them as a
community and as individuals.” Each day, two teams work on the road—the
women in dresses, the men in dress slacks and shirts as they collect
rocks, swing picks, and dig dirt.
Didier Gallard, a French engineer working as an LWF/ACT
consultant, says about the complicated social factors, historical
divisions, and political conflicts that might threaten cooperation,
“We’re trying to keep people focused solely on the water. We hope and
believe the need for water is something everyone can agree on, despite
whatever other divisions and conflicts exist in the communities.”
This social aspect also fits within LWF’s mission in Haiti to advance
peaceful conflict resolution. By working with the community, providing
a much-needed resource, and helping to organize the community based on
an essential resource, the hope is to provide an opportunity for
positive social development. This social aspect will likely prove as
challenging to the project’s long-term success as all the technical
difficulties combined.
The final part of the plan involves collaborating with other
organizations.
LWF is the lead partner and organization on the ground. To
accomplish something of this scope requires significant collaboration.
Other contributors include MINUSTAH, the U.N. mission in Haiti, which
financed construction of a water reservoir and terracing work to enable
the pipes to be laid; OCHA, the U.N. office for humanitarian affairs,
which funded the purchase of pipes; Catholic Relief Services and
CONCERN, which financed different feasibility studies;
and OXFAM, which repaired a water tank and is installing pipes and
building distribution kiosks. The final project cost for this stage
will be about US$150,000 (or about $10 per person).
LWF is now seeking $370,000 in funding to extend a different,
17-kilometer branch of piping to reach 15,000 more people.
In the midst of this eight-part complexity, a guiding
ideal has been simplicity, which is one of the French engineer
Gallard’s specialties. He says that the essential simplicity at the
core of this project is what will make it a long-term success.
First, the water flows from the source down to the villages through the
pipes by the force of gravity, not a pump—so there is much less that
can go wrong.
Second, they have utilized parts that are as simple and fixable as
possible.
Third, during construction they have been giving technical training to
many local people who have been involved throughout the whole process.
“It’s not a djyab,” says Didier, invoking the name of indigenous,
mysterious spirits. “There are no secrets. People will understand how
this thing works and how to fix any problems it might have.”
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Saipan Loads Seabees Cargo
Haiti 1/28/2005
Story Number: NNS050128-05 Release Date:
From Commander, U.S. 2nd Fleet Public Affairs PASCAGOULA, Miss. (NNS)
The amphibious assault ship USS Saipan (LHA 2) departed Pascagoula,
Miss., Jan. 26 after loading more than 50 Seabees and their 1,200 tons
of construction equipment and supplies to transport them to Haiti in
support of exercise New Horizons (NH) 2005 Haiti.
The Sailors will join other U.S. military forces to
provide much-needed humanitarian assistance to Haiti, including
building three schoolhouses, drilling wells and providing free medical
assistance in the hurricane-ravaged island.
“Although U.S. Navy amphibious ships have supported humanitarian
missions in the past, it’s almost unheard of for this type of ship to
sail on a dedicated mission with the Seabees as the main effort,” said
Capt. Chris Chace, Saipan Expeditionary Strike Group commander.
“This event is unique in recent memory, and it has been an
exciting challenge for the combat cargo personnel on my staff and in
Saipan,” said Chace. “Amphibious ships were designed to carry a
‘landing force,’ which is most associated with the Marines, but we have
proven time and again that the versatility of these ships allows us to
carry a variety of forces, be they special operations forces, the U.S.
Army or, in this case, the U.S. Navy Seabees.”
Saipan is transporting all the equipment and supplies needed to
accomplish this mission.
“We loaded on just under 500 pieces of cargo and about 35 vehicles,”
said Marine Capt. Darren Demyer, Combat Cargo officer aboard Saipan.
Most of the onloaded material consisted of equipment and
supplies needed by Naval Mobile Construction Battalion 1 to perform
their operation ashore. “The cargo consists of water, Meals Ready to
Eat (MRE), tents and construction material for the Seabees,” Demyer
said. About 40 personnel helped load the cargo and vehicles over a
period of 20 hours. “We started at noon and ended at 3 a.m., then put
in another five hours from 7 a.m. until noon,” said Demyer.
Senior Chief Storekeeper Paul Rump supervised the movement and stowage
of the equipment. “We drove the forklifts, packed the loads, and put
the cargo in the order combat cargo wanted it,” he said. “We basically
did whatever combat cargo needed us to do.”
The task force conducting NH Haiti is led by Cmdr. Scott
Hurst, from 22nd Naval Construction Regiment, and involves Seabees and
Soldiers from Naval Mobile Construction Battalion 1, Gulfport, Miss.;
400th Military Police Battalion, from Ft. Meade, Md.; 1-207th Aviation
Battalion from Ft. Richardson, Alaska; 699th Engineer Company from Ft.
Buchanan, Puerto Rico; and the 648th QM-TM from the Virgin Islands.
“This mission allows us to provide much-needed humanitarian
assistance," said Hurst. "In addition, working with other services also
develops our understanding of each other’s capabilities and enhances
our ability to operate jointly."
Haiti will be one of the six nations to benefit from the
New Horizons program. NH is a Joint Chiefs of Staff-directed program
sponsored by U.S. Southern Command. It involves the deployment of U.S.
military personnel to South America and the Caribbean to conduct
humanitarian and civil assistance missions.
The NH program started in the mid-1980s with the primary objective of
providing joint readiness training for U.S. engineering and medical
military units and their host nation counterparts, while fostering
goodwill between the United States and its neighbors.
NH Haiti provides and excellent opportunity for U.S.
forces to refine engineering and medical skills while helping to
improve the quality of life for the people of Haiti.
For related news, visit the Commander, U.S. 2nd Fleet/NATO Striking
Fleet Atlantic Navy NewsStand page at www.news.navy.mil/local/c2f.
HAITI April 2002
A three member panel from the Organization of
American
States (OAS) arrived in the country to investigate "all aspects" of a
December
attack on the National Palace which has resulted in a four-month
political
stale-mate between President Jean-Bertrand Aristide's government and
opposition
parties.
Medical
mission team goes to Haiti
A medical team of nine members of Risen Savior in Burnsville and two
members of the Woodland Hill congregation in St. Paul traveled to Gris
Gris, Haiti, in late January for a one-week medical mission. The
group
administered 1,700 immunizations, treated 1,500 patients and pulled
nearly 400 teeth.
Medical
team learns lessons in Haiti March 30, 2000
The Catholic Spirit By
Mike Haasi
'I thought we were going to give and share our
gifts to
the people of Gris-Gris, but they gave more to us in their acceptance
and
friendship than I can even desirable here." -Pat Limoges, RN
A medical team made up of nine members of
Risen Savior
in Burnsville and two members of the Woodland Hills congregation in St.
Paul traveled to Haiti in late January for a one-week medical mission
at
St. Rose of Lima parish in Gris-Gris, Haiti. Though just 50 miles
southwest of the capital Port- au-Prince as the crow flies, it takes
about
eight hours to get there over the worst roads imaginable. As in
most
of rural Haiti, there is no running water, no electricity and no
telephones
to the outside world. The very first girl that visited the medical team
stopped breathing. "We had just arrived at the clinic and hadn't even
unpacked
the supplies," said Nancy Roberts, a chiropractor that drew upon her
prior
career as a medical technologist. "With the quick action of the
team,
she was stabilized and sent to the hospital which was over two hours
away.
She was on our minds, the whole week."
The team of five nurses, two physicians, a
dentist, a
pharmacist and a physician, worked in conjunction with a Cuban doctor
who
recently began working in Gris-Gris. Over the course of one week,
they gave 1,700 immunizations, treated 1,500 patients and pulled nearly
400 teeth. "We saw two-and-a-half times as many patients as we
anticipated,"
said Pat Callahan, a pharmacist who was kept busy filling
prescriptions.
"I was exhausted." Mike Mahowald was the primary organizer of the
trip.
Though not a medical professional, Mahowald became a passionate
advocate
for the people of Haiti after a trip in December 1998. "I was
'wondering
what my role would be when I got there. I soon found myself being
the 'ambulance driver,' picking up people from the surrounding
countryside
and bringing them to the clinic."
"Risen Savior and St. Rose of Lima parishes
have been
in a sister parish relationship for about a year," said Cathy Voysey,
chair
of the 15-member sister parish committee. "It is incredible to see how
this relationship has caught the imagination of this parish," she
said.
"Nearly every area of parish life has become involved, from the
religious
education program to the men's club."
More than $40,000 has been contributed by
Risen Savior
parishioners.
The pastor of Gris-Gris, Father Philippe Desire,
who
visited Risen Savior in October, has used the money to finish the
rectory,
build a parish bakery and two large water cisterns. In addition, to put
on a new roof at one of the outlying chapels. The chief goal, however,
is not to be a one-way supply of money and goods to Gris-Gris, but to
establish
a mutual relationship, a real "sibling" relationship, where each party
gives to the other. When members of the medical teams poke at the
Masses
at Risen Savior, it became clear that this goal was being attained.
Nurse
Michelle Chadwick said, "Before I left on this trip, people would ask
me
why I wanted to go to a place like Haiti. I would respond,
'because
I want to give, I want to help' . . . But I can tell you now, that my
answer
is not the same as when people ask me if I will return to Haiti.
Instead of giving, I really received much more. I felt that our
presence
in Gris-Gris would give the people a sense of hope and a sense that
people
do care. Instead, the Haitian people gave me a sense of hope -
that
we can live together, that life is not about what we can obtain and
what
we can achieve for ourselves, but instead, that we truly are brothers
and
sisters.... We were accepted and united in a way that I have never
before
experienced.... It was impossible not to feel God's presence and a
sincere
love for humanity... I will return to Haiti, to a place where love and
hope are alive."
As the group was about to leave Gris-Gris, they found
out
about the little girl who had stopped breathing that first day.
She had recovered and was doing well at home, a life saved in Haiti,
and a symbol of hope for both parishes.
Mike Haasi is Risen Savior's social justice coordinator. Risen Savior
became linked to the Gris-Gris parish through the Parish Training
Program of the Americas (PTPA). For further information about the
organization, or how to link to a sister parish, call Mike Haasi at
(612) 431-5222 or Theresa Patterson at PTPA at (615) 356-5999.
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