Pure Water for the World

There is not enough water in Port-au-Prince now. Most of the population used to get their  water from tanker trucks, collected by the jug each day. Better off families in our area have cisterns, and these were filled by the tanker trucks. The poor drink the same water even though it is often contaminated. The shortage of water is mostly due to a lack of diesel fuel to keep the trucks running, and because so many cisterns need filling.

Some poorer people also drink well water that is usually highly polluted. As the water scarcity progresses, people are forced to drink poorer and poorer quality water, whatever is available. Our filters will be useful to purify both cistern water and the well water that people now are resorting to. Here we drink filtered cistern water. Our tank is being drained faster than we anticipated because the family downstairs has expanded to include 8 or 10 relatives who have lost their homes.

In many places existing water tanks have been damaged – as a result cisterns are being drained more quickly.

We had a little guy of about eight years old turn up today who walked 10 km from beyond the airport to a hospital in Delmas looking for his mother and father. He had been left with neighbors, and he had been told that his parents had been taken to hospital. Everyone where he was had lost their house and he was the only remaining kid [in his family].

He had the name of the hospital and so he put on his little backpack and started walking to the hospital, and when he got there no one knew anything about his parents.

Marie-Paule brought him home and fed him. He’s looking lost but we will keep him with us for now and find some situation for him. He’s alert and sharp and active, but tired. He walked for hours. 

Yesterday I met with Laura Guerrier (the PWW Data Entry/Secretary); she lost everything, but survived without injuries … so did her parents.

My wife and I provided her some clothes and personal stuff for her and her parents.

I also received a phone call from Jean Bates who works at the filter factory; he is safe and back in Belladere (his home by the frontier).

Yesterday afternoon finally I got a hold on Mr. Durval (he also works at the filter factory). His daughter, 14 years old, died in a school collapse, his wife was badly injured and is in a hospital, and his home collapsed. He had no injuries, but is exhausted and tired. But nonetheless this morning he came back to the filter factory and helped clean up the debris.