Stories

There are many stories to tell. We have lived in Haiti just under 3 months now and are still barely wrapping our minds around the complexities that we see here. It is easy to forget to process our time in Haiti. We often remind each other to write down the stories of the people to help us reflect and voice their needs better.

A Story about Cite Marcel, in Leogane, Haiti

When I first entered Cite Marcel in Leogane, it was late afternoon and the sun had begun to fade behind a sea of clouds that released thin sheets of rain. The moment I stepped out of my vehicle I was struck by the thick stench of stagnate water and open waste that I had been shielded from behind the sterile coldness of the windshield and air-conditioning. I had visited many IDP camps by this point, but never had I seen such awful living conditions. The stream that came from the center of town had long stopped flowing and the water reeked of the remnants of sugarcane and corn from the distillery upstream – hardly drinkable – and made worse by human waste and garbage of all sorts. While walking round, I discovered that there was no basic sanitation in Cite Marcel and though hundreds of people had built shelters made of sticks, sheets and palm fronds, there was seemingly no access to any resource that would make such a large group of people want to stay in this place.

As I met more people who had made this their home, I could not help but notice what sounded like endless gallons of water flowing from a tap. As I looked to my left, above a grouping of tents, I saw a young woman standing on a platform operating a simple water pump that gushed forth clear, sparkling water. And, as she collected water into a large bucket I was filled with a sense of relief. Aha! Cite Marcel could not possibly be such a terrible place to live – with all this fresh water available!

As I asked about this water, I found that it was fed by an underground spring and privately owned by a family that had been able to move to another Caribbean nation. Before leaving Haiti, this family had given the responsibility of guarding and caring for the water source to a local family, and one of the daughter’s of this family had been the one gathering water. Some of the community leaders then explained that absolutely no one else was allowed to drink this water – and with this new knowledge, the relief I had felt just a few moments ago disappeared, being replaced by a sense of loss, a real sadness that a resource so precious and visible, could not be enjoyed by the hundreds living there. Despite such a desperate place to live I was astounded by the joy and resilience of those living in Cite Marcel.

One of the main differences between the people of Cite Marcel and those of other camps I had worked in was their reliability in collaborating with Samaritan’s Purse to bring practical interventions to life, rather than passively waiting for services to be offered and delivered. Though I could not immediately address the issue of water, I coordinated with one of Samaritan’s Purse’s partner organizations who specialize in water engineering and they began to assess the situation and have been working to provide clean water within the community.

Partnering with the leaders of Cite Marcel, 2 latrine holes were quickly dug, and because the water table was only a few feet below the ground’s surface, it was clear that the latrines would have to be constructed primarily above ground. Just as speedily, masons and other tradesmen within the community offered their services and began to erect a cinder block wall. Within just a few days, two beautiful foundations had been completed and lined with plastic and the community’s strongest men were now hoisting the prefabricated latrine onto its strong foundation. A little while later, other men had begun to clear a place for steps to be built. With almost no effort on my part, members of the community mobilized and began to pick up garbage and place it in the rubbish pit that had just been dug.

Though it will take time to address the issues of equal access and rights to water, the people of Cite Marcel can now use the restroom without having to worry about making their environment worse. The thoughtful signs, etched with chalk onto small sheets of plywood on the fronts of the latrines, and discovered just a few days later are a testimony to the power of partnership and solidarity. The signs, scrawled in Creole, read: ‘Thank you Ian and Samaritan’s Purse for giving us a new life.’