Thursday, June 29, 2017

Avèk pasyans, ou ka deplase yon mòn



"Avèk pasyans, ou ka deplase yon mòn" -“With Patience, you can move a mountain.” 

In my office, here, I have a book of Haitian proverbs in Kreyol with English translations (and some explanations.) I’ve oft thought that much can be learned about a culture and a people by familiarizing oneself with their proverbs. One learns what is applicable and important to a people by learning what wisdom has been passed through generations from their ancestors to them. One also learns about the world from the sorts of analogies that are made. This book has several sayings on patience, a virtue which I’ve found indispensable in Haiti. "With patience, you can move a mountain" is one of my favored sayings in my native English. I’m somewhat amused to have not found a translation for this saying, mostly on account an allusion to not only patience, but mountains as well. Without further ado, it has been nearly a month since my last posting, and there is much to share.

Much of June has been invested in evaluating the state of the water system in Cangé and developing a list of what needed to be addressed in preparation for a visit from the World Health Organization (henceforth to be referred to as WHO.) The system is in overall excellent working order. Chief among my responsibilities in Cangé is to work with the water team, who oversees the daily operation of the system, and over the course of which I’ve learned much about what each member does individually as well as together. I’ve had the opportunity to walk the system from end to end, test water quality, and further familiarize myself with the operation of the pumps at Bas Cangé and how we distribute water to the village. Each time Cholera is mentioned in conversation; I’m reminded how vital the water system truly is. For those of you not familiar with Cholera, a brief summation would explain that it’s a bacterial disease that spreads via contaminated food and water sources with symptoms including severe diarrhea and dehydration. It’s treatable, but often fatal if not treated right away. Haiti’s Central Plateau, with wanting infrastructure and without widespread access to clean water, was an ideal breeding ground during the introduction of Cholera in October 2010. An epidemic which is ongoing and has since spread not only to all ten of Haiti’s départements as well as neighboring Cuba and the Dominican Republic. During my first visit to Haiti in March, I learned from speaking with one of the faculty members who came with us from Clemson that the hospital in Cangé run by Zanmi Lasante (Partners in Health, henceforth to be referred to as ZL) does not operate a gastrointestinal disease ward. There is no need to do so as there aren’t occurrences of Cholera or other gastrointestinal disease in Cangé, a direct result of the water system. It was a great pleasure to show the water system to the representatives from WHO, and they were equally delighted to see the system at work. With CEDC’s work in Cangé serving as a résumé, WHO is interested in collaborating in the future. A great honor and privilege, going forward.


It's my hope to be able to update this blog a little more frequently in the future (perhaps bi-weekly to start, big commitments are intimidating.) July will see updates on the water system repairs and traveling to the remote villages where we also have projects. For now, I’m attaching pictures below for your viewing pleasure (they’re prettier anyway and are better than my rambling on,) until next time, or as I've been saying a lot lately: "M' pral wè pita!" (See you later!)

At the dam in Bas Cangé we have grates through which water passes to the different pumps (there are three) and one other pipe (video below.) The grates had a metal mesh on them to keep larger objects in the water (such as branches, leaves, or rocks that might be washed away by the river) from passing through and on to the pumps. As is probably obvious, metal and water don't mix well together, naturally, the mesh began to deteriorate. It was the team's idea to use this plastic lattice as a replacement for the mesh. With the "go-ahead," we set about stripping the old mesh from the grates and laying the lattice over-top the grates. The lattice, with slightly larger holes, still does a superb job of filtering so that water exclusively passes on to the pumps. (Featuring Colón)



One of the more severe cases of needed replacement on the system. This is Mossoul Fountain (nicknamed "Beautiful Fountain" so named for the unique paint job, picture of that another time) what is missing is the housing and lever for the tap. Without the tap, the ball valve has to remain close and water can't flow from this particular tap to anybody who comes to the fountain for water. 


This is a piston holder. One of the many small, yet critical parts which ensure that the pumps (and the system to a larger extent,) run smoothly. This one is at the end of its life and I was so surprised when I was told the top piece is originally brass, so I knew right away this was one thing I wanted to share here. 

In honor of W.H.O. coming to visit, we wrested the white board from storage to be able to draw informative diagrams to go along with our explanations on how the system works. Sadly, we did not use the board to this end, but I did think a good use of it would be a to write a welcome that also serves to make a beloved classic rock reference. I suppose I shouldn't be surprised it couldn't be fully appreciated in Haiti. (Secondary Objective to Internship: introduce the community to the cultural and musical cornucopia that is the British Invasion)

Idea totally brainstormed by David (who flew in for the visit with W.H.O.) to which I was a shameless accomplice: we asked the ladies who cook for us if they were familiar with guacamole. They were not, and you see, this was an opportunity too good to allow to lapse. Supplying a list of ingredients, we described how to prepare guacamole. Pictured above was the first in a round of experimentation. Armed with tortilla chips, we dug in, and tasted that it was good. 

After some experimentation with the guacamole (and after also introducing separately salsa,) to further spice things up (probably should've warned you that crying from laughter is a possibility here,) we took a consensus and decided to add the salsa *into* the guacamole. When I say salsa, I don't mean mild. I don't mean medium either. I mean the hottest darn salsa we could find, complete with peppers (in addition to the pepper *already* in the mix,) and tasted that it was good. Albeit still insufficiently spicy, alas there was nothing else to add (at this juncture I find it somewhat ill-advised to attempt to see who can eat spicier food (even as a latino.))

I never noticed whether or not Coca-Cola back in the States has inspiring messages written on the bottle wrappers, regardless, it is something we enjoy here. A simple reminder from the fine folk at Coca-Cola Haiti to be positive (and I'd say to a greater extent have patience, although this might be reaching on my part for the sake of applicability.)

Lastly, we have what David assures me is a totally common (totally weird) way to spell "ketchup." Never seen it this way before, so I just had to share. 



Actual lastly (pinky-swear this time) is a video I took of the pipe at the dam in Bas Cangé. Some of you may recognize (from the video in which I became very wet) this pipe as none other than pipe whose flow rate we measured in March during my first visit to Haiti. I took the video mostly for the stark contrast: when we visited in March the dry season was coming to a close with the rainy season starting up in April, versus now about a third of the way through the roughly six month long rainy season. I thought the normal stream now comparable to what was produced in March after closing the other pathways through which the water could pass. I speak perhaps daringly here, but it is my thought this bodes very well for the potential hydro-electric project we'd like to pursue in Bas Cangé.

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