September 2008
Dear Friends and Supporters of Clean Water for Haiti:
For the first time ever, I went out to our beach this morning and found it littered with tree-sized driftwood. Hurricane Hanna was supposed to be a tropical storm that lightly brushed Haiti's north coast but Monday afternoon it moved south, and it's been hitting the country with rain and wind for the past 36 hours. Here in Pierre Payen we've had 12 inches so far. We drove around the local area early this morning to see some of what happened and both the Montrouis and Pierre Payen rivers went well above flood levels. In Pierre Payen a number of people had the river flowing through their homes and one house I saw had all four walls washed away.
The Montrouis river Tuesday morning.
The Pierre Payen river Tuesday morning.
A local home under water.
Clean Water for Haiti is fine, except for a few broken branches. One of our workers had a boulder smash through the side of his house while he was sleeping, but I'll get to that later. The real tragedy of this storm is probably Gonaives. I say probably because there's no information in the media about Gonaives yet. Word of mouth is that the water went up to 12 levels of blocks, or about 8 feet. Some of you may remember reading about Hurricane Jeanne in September 2004 which flooded Gonaives last time around. Never before in living memory had so much water come into the city. There are three rivers that merge in Gonaives before flowing into the sea, and all three watersheds received torrential rains, combining to wash away over 2900 people and flood the homes of over 100,000 people. Just south of Gonaives there is a lowland depression several kilometers across which was mostly scrub brush and tall cactuses. After the flood, it remained submerged for over a year. Clean Water for Haiti brought in over 3000 filters to Gonaives in the months following the flood which were for the most part well received. Gonaives is a city with no sewer system and every well and every latrine were filled up with floodwater and mud. Thinking of that disaster repeating itself a mere 4 years later makes me feel queasy.
Saint Marc was also flooded but I have not yet seen the damage. There is very little traffic on the national highway today, and the road to Port au Prince has some very muddy places. I don't know if Saint Marc is passable, and Gonaives may only be accessible by large trucks. In 2004 we were able to get there in our Daihatsu truck but my feet were underwater as we drove through the deep parts.
Biosand filters are poorly suited to disaster relief. The best potable water effort after Hurricane Jeanne was up and running in days, by Oxfam if I remember correctly. They had big, diesel powered reverse osmosis filters that provided enough drinking water for the whole city, free. Biosand filters weigh 160 pounds and go in people's homes. They are a development tool, not a disaster relief one. However, it is so hard to know about people suffering without doing something to help. If I can figure out a way to effectively help people in the flood affected zone, we'll do it. If any of you are working in an affected area and are able to coordinate getting filters to those who have no access to drinking water, please contact me. We have about 200 filters ready to go at the moment.
Saint Marc was also flooded but I have not yet seen the damage. There is very little traffic on the national highway today, and the road to Port au Prince has some very muddy places. I don't know if Saint Marc is passable, and Gonaives may only be accessible by large trucks. In 2004 we were able to get there in our Daihatsu truck but my feet were underwater as we drove through the deep parts.
Biosand filters are poorly suited to disaster relief. The best potable water effort after Hurricane Jeanne was up and running in days, by Oxfam if I remember correctly. They had big, diesel powered reverse osmosis filters that provided enough drinking water for the whole city, free. Biosand filters weigh 160 pounds and go in people's homes. They are a development tool, not a disaster relief one. However, it is so hard to know about people suffering without doing something to help. If I can figure out a way to effectively help people in the flood affected zone, we'll do it. If any of you are working in an affected area and are able to coordinate getting filters to those who have no access to drinking water, please contact me. We have about 200 filters ready to go at the moment.
Michel, one of our newer workers, dropped by here this morning and I overheard him saying "Roche tombe su kay la, tet chage. M'pa ka fe anyen, map degage." literally translated, that's "A rock fell on my house. My head is loaded. I can't do anything about it but I'll make do." I asked Michel if I could survey the damage, and we took a look. Well, a rock didn't fall on his house, it was a BOULDER. The house is quite modest - a mud and rock affair perched on a hillside. Michel was dozing on the home's one bed with his child and the boulder rolled down the hill and smashed through the wall of his house, throwing him and the child off the bed. It seems Michel is a master of understatement, something I have solid respect for. Michel also impressed me Tuesday morning by being the only one of Clean Water for Haiti's workers to show up for work - sharp at 6am. I told him we were taking a hurricane break! 
Outside Michel’s house – the boulder that hit his house is behind this second one.
The surf became really high yesterday. Our old boat (which now belongs to a friend of ours but is still moored in the same place) became swamped and sank. No waves came over the wall, but they continue to come right up to it.
The old mission boat bobbing in the waves before it went under.
What the water in front of the mission looked like at 10:30 am on Tuesday.
Outside Michel’s house – the boulder that hit his house is behind this second one.
The surf became really high yesterday. Our old boat (which now belongs to a friend of ours but is still moored in the same place) became swamped and sank. No waves came over the wall, but they continue to come right up to it.
The old mission boat bobbing in the waves before it went under.
What the water in front of the mission looked like at 10:30 am on Tuesday.
I mentioned about the driftwood - it's remarkable to have driftwood here because any unwanted wood is immediately cut up and processed into charcoal. I suspect that all the driftwood will be claimed within the next few days. As I watched the swollen Montrouis river this morning, large branches and even whole trees went rushing past every few seconds.
Debris on the beach.
Please pray for Haiti as the storm rages on, even if you don't normally do that. There's another storm, Ike, on the way and it's predicted to reach category 2 before it brushes Haiti as opposed to Hanna's 1. I can't imagine it being worse, but praying is still a good idea. We're thankful that all of our own people and equipment are okay, and especially for our new roof, which doesn't leak a drop.
LATE EDIT: On Wednesday evening the Montrouis bridge started to sink. The Montrouis bridge is the only connection for a good part of the country between the north and the south. If the bridge goes out we are essentially cut off from the capital where most supplies come from. Hanna has affected all of Haiti, not just a specific area. Please keep everyone here in your prayers.
On behalf of everyone at Clean Water for Haiti,
Chris & Leslie Rolling
Executive Directors
Contact Us In Haiti:
Chris – info@cleanwaterforhaiti.org
Leslie – office@cleanwaterforhaiti.org
Phone: (intn’l code)+ 509-547-3210
Donations can be sent to:
In Canada:
Clean Water for Haiti
c/o Vernon Alliance Church
2601 43rd Ave.
Vernon, BC V1T 3L1
In the US:
Clean Water for Haiti
4606 NW Grant Place
Vancouver, WA 98663
Contact our Fundraising Directors:
In Canada:
John Carruthers – John.Carruthers@enbridge.com
In the US:
Barb Jonusaitis – barbj@cleanwaterforhaiti.org
Debris on the beach.
Please pray for Haiti as the storm rages on, even if you don't normally do that. There's another storm, Ike, on the way and it's predicted to reach category 2 before it brushes Haiti as opposed to Hanna's 1. I can't imagine it being worse, but praying is still a good idea. We're thankful that all of our own people and equipment are okay, and especially for our new roof, which doesn't leak a drop.
LATE EDIT: On Wednesday evening the Montrouis bridge started to sink. The Montrouis bridge is the only connection for a good part of the country between the north and the south. If the bridge goes out we are essentially cut off from the capital where most supplies come from. Hanna has affected all of Haiti, not just a specific area. Please keep everyone here in your prayers.
On behalf of everyone at Clean Water for Haiti,
Chris & Leslie Rolling
Executive Directors
Contact Us In Haiti:
Chris – info@cleanwaterforhaiti.org
Leslie – office@cleanwaterforhaiti.org
Phone: (intn’l code)+ 509-547-3210
Donations can be sent to:
In Canada:
Clean Water for Haiti
c/o Vernon Alliance Church
2601 43rd Ave.
Vernon, BC V1T 3L1
In the US:
Clean Water for Haiti
4606 NW Grant Place
Vancouver, WA 98663
Contact our Fundraising Directors:
In Canada:
John Carruthers – John.Carruthers@enbridge.com
In the US:
Barb Jonusaitis – barbj@cleanwaterforhaiti.org
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