A PWW Board Member's Perspective on Haiti

I left for Haiti on 2/26 and returned 3/10. It was both worse and better than expected. The devastation was more wide spread. The spirit of the people is resolute. Buildings are constructed of concrete, block and rebar. Every collapsed building has a story. Many are still tombs. One school claimed over two hundred students.

For each lost home, a family is in despair. There is no insuarance to buffer loss, no councilors to soothe the grief. The lucky ones only lost all worldly possessions. Many of the buildings still standing are condemned and must be torn down.

Open spaces are filled with tent cities. People sleep away from buildings. Fear of another quake is pervasive. Over 55 aftershocks of higher than five feed that fear. At night, tents claim many neighborhood streets.

Dust fills the air, coating everything, irritating eyes and throats. Rain clears the air, providing a brief respite, but the dust turns into a paste that envelops your shoes growing thicker with each step. I returned with a sinus infection.

Pictures are inadequate, failing to convey depth, detail and impact. The scenes envelop the senses, a photo being just a single frame from a movie. Night brings the hum of generators that eventually yield to a chorus of crickets, dogs and rooster. The serenade lasts all night building to a lively crescendo at dawn. People emerge. Those lucky enough, go to work. The schools still standing will not open for another month. Damaged homes are dismantled by hand, with a sledge and a chisel. Rubble is pushed to the curb. Workmen work to keep the rubble from impinging on the by-ways, and the dust multiplies. The roads are clogged with vehicles from colorful group taxis called “tap-taps”; large tanker trucks with water splashing from their spouts making deliveries to camps; UN and US soldiers cruising in their Hummvees, armed with helmets, flack jackets and rifles; NGOs in their new SUVs scurry to the next important meeting; trucks making deliveries; all added to the mix of normal people looking for some normalcy. Strung along the sidewalks in a shopping area, with collapsed stores at their backs, a ribbon of vendors offer clothes, house wares, a variety of fruits, vegetables and assorted foods. An artist’s paintings hang from a make shift fence, a soft breeze carries the scent of chicken on a grill at the corner and the crowd ambles by. Everything takes much longer than expected, nothing is constant except changing plans, and the dust is ever present. The sun fades and the generators find their voice.

People are rebuilding, homes are going up. Food, clothing, medicine and water are in good supply. The emergency response period is past and recovery mode is in full swing. The homeless upper class received the best tents, lesser tents for the middle class, group tents for the lucky poor, for many just tarps to cobble a shelter, all on a colorful canvass of broken dreams. The poorest of the poor have even less than before. The rainy season is coming, cholera and typhoid looming, and people go about picking up the pieces.

Pure Water for the World is engaged. We were first on the scene to create safe drinking water for camps of people after the quake. Currently we deliver five liters of drinking quality water per person, per day for 82,000+ people, mostly in the poorest areas.

There are many heroic stories to tell, but for Haitians, life moves on.

Your support enables us, thank you,

Byron Miller Pure Water for the World Board Member

The amazing people of Haiti continue to need your help. Donate Now.