For the People. With the People.

 

 

The last project realizing by Sustain Haiti makes me proud of being part of this great organization. Last year, we met with Kenson (member of a local organization in Ca-Ira, Leogane) who was very interested in working with us to provide clean water to the people of Ca-Ira. people, live in part of the city, used to work or take canoes for a long distance to get clean water. Now, they have water in their backwards or couple yards away due to the new well and water system we teamed up with the local population and other NGOs to drill.

The project had been done in two phases:

1. The drilling- Near to 140 feet deep and was drilled with some sophisticated equipment. We were able to team up with Alpha and Omega of Georgia State to make the drilling possible and pay for the cost. The water is coming with a speed that vanishes away all the concerns we had on the quantity and quality of the water. We anticipated using three inch diameter pipes; but the pressure and the volume of the water is so strong after the drilling, we had to use four inch pipes instead. The speed… you can fill up your five gallon bucket in exactly four second. In addition, the water has been tested drinkable by CARE with no treatment for more than 24 hours contained in a recipient.
   
2. The piping and tap water- with so much water pressure, we decided to distribute the water at different points in the area to serve about 5,000 people. There are six water points or stations on the well: three are located in the West, two East, and one North from the well (see illustration below). Nearly two miles PVC pipes have been use to build the system.
   

   Not to forget… most people and landlords along the road, where we passed the pipes, have tap water in their backyards.
   

   And the big protagonists to make it happen: Sustain Haiti working side by side with the local people in Ca-ira and Bwa Lam. People like Kenson from Ca-Ira (he is the MAN), Frantz Nasson from route Ca-Ira, and the group Aegon.
   

To Sustain Haiti, many people are grateful to the dream team for playing a key role to make project possible. They love what you did for them. –they want me to thank Dustin for his great leadership and vision on this project and for extending his trip to make sure it happened, and all the volunteers from the States, Canada, Columbia, and Leogane who work so hard- You guys rock!!!

Above all, big thank you to big sponsor, Pinnacle Security for their support- Mickey and Kevin (VPs at Pinnacle), thank you guys for your vision and your leaderships. Without you, guys, great project like this and many others we're doing would not be possible. Go Pinnacle Security!

Reach the Children really reached out to the poor children of the true God in Haiti by taking good care of us. Special thank you to Pat and Kevin Clarson; and for Mary Harris… she is awesome!!!

And at last not the least, to the Doers… Thank you to the Sustain Haiti US team who worked so hard this summer to fulfill our needs. To Josh for an outstanding PR. Rob and Tyler, great logistics guys! Ben, very proactive health manager. Zack, Warner, and Dustin… The MANAGERS who are the Super Heroes!

Team, you did not change the world this summer. But you greatly changed Haiti. Way to go team!!!

 

1Ca-Ira Water System

 

 

For the People. With the People.

 

 

The last project realizing by Sustain Haiti makes me proud of being part of this great organization. Last year, we met with Kenson (member of a local organization in Ca-Ira, Leogane) who was very interested in working with us to provide clean water to the people of Ca-Ira. people, live in part of the city, used to work or take canoes for a long distance to get clean water. Now, they have water in their backwards or couple yards away due to the new well and water system we teamed up with the local population and other NGOs to drill.

The project had been done in two phases:

1. The drilling- Near to 140 feet deep and was drilled with some sophisticated equipment. We were able to team up with Alpha and Omega of Georgia State to make the drilling possible and pay for the cost. The water is coming with a speed that vanishes away all the concerns we had on the quantity and quality of the water. We anticipated using three inch diameter pipes; but the pressure and the volume of the water is so strong after the drilling, we had to use four inch pipes instead. The speed… you can fill up your five gallon bucket in exactly four second. In addition, the water has been tested drinkable by CARE with no treatment for more than 24 hours contained in a recipient.
   
2. The piping and tap water- with so much water pressure, we decided to distribute the water at different points in the area to serve about 5,000 people. There are six water points or stations on the well: three are located in the West, two East, and one North from the well (see illustration). Nearly two miles PVC pipes have been use to build the system.
   

   Not to forget… most people and landlords along the road, where we passed the pipes, have tap water in their backyards.
   

   And the big protagonists to make it happen: Sustain Haiti working side by side with the local people in Ca-ira and Bwa Lam. People like Kenson from Ca-Ira (he is the MAN), Frantz Nasson from route Ca-Ira, and the group Aegon.
   

To Sustain Haiti, many people are grateful to the dream team for playing a key role to make project possible. They love what you did for them. –they want me to thank Dustin for his great leadership and vision on this project and for extending his trip to make sure it happened, and all the volunteers from the States, Canada, Columbia, and Leogane who work so hard- You guys rock!!!

Above all, big thank you to big sponsor, Pinnacle Security for their support- Mickey and Kevin (VPs at Pinnacle), thank you guys for your vision and your leaderships. Without you, guys, great project like this and many others we're doing would not be possible. Go Pinnacle Security!

Reach the Children really reached out to the poor children of the true God in Haiti by taking good care of us. Special thank you to Pat and Kevin Clarson; and for Mary Harris… she is awesome!!!

And at last not the least, to the Doers… Thank you to the Sustain Haiti US team who worked so hard this summer to fulfill our needs. To Josh for an outstanding PR. Rob and Tyler, great logistics guys! Ben, very proactive health manager. Zack, Warner, and Dustin… The MANAGERS who are the Super Heroes!

Team, you did not change the world this summer. But you greatly changed Haiti. Way to go team!!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Emergency Services

After a nice ride to Port-au-Prince to drop Craig (one of our volunteers), I did all the driving around the city since it is a very different style than other countries. Although, Dustin was behind the wheel after we left the city on our way back to Leogane. When we saw a young man laying in the middle of the road… he was dead… He was standing in the back of a “Tap Tap”, which a common transportation in Haiti, when a truck the back of the Tap Tap. As we’re passing by, I could see other people covered with blood and looked desperate for help. It didn’t take us more than a second to decide to turn around the vehicle and get two of them, the worst one, in the car with the help on some local guys. Because the traffic was so bad, I had to keep honking as we were trying to pass other vehicle on the road. “No time to lose. It’s emergency time”. Dustin, in the back of the truck, did a perfect job to stop the bleedings and get them water. After twenty minutes of ride, we could finally get them to the hospital.
What a relief it was when we finally got into the hospital! The ER crew was right there waiting to rush them. I could say at that time, after a job well done, we did some good today. Saving life! There were the perfect strangers to Dustin and me but, as the Good Samaritan, we did exactly what the Lord would do.
Aren’t we here to support the Haitian people? How could we dare saying that while driving by someone who needs help and not helping out?
In Sustain Haiti, this is what we come to do and this is exactly what we’re doing. It is our common believes.
In fact, the difference between us and others NGOs around is our accessibility to the people in the city of Leogane. Every day you can notice a bunch of kids and young friends in front of our gate saying hi to us. They know and recognize most of our volunteers by names. Which I am proud of, and I can bet you won’t find such amongst others, even those working with kids and youth.
What a blessing we have to be able to serve the people in Haiti. We do not have any pride for our accomplishment rather, we feel humble in front of such great love. How grateful I am for being part of the Sustain Haiti group!

Eyes’ Witnesses and Doers of Haiti!

This post was published to Rony's Technical Blog at 7:42:23 PM 5/29/2010
Eyes’ Witnesses and Doers of Haiti!


Now a month since I’ve been back to Haiti, and the things I am a witness of give me a bittersweet feeling. One of the things I have the privilege to see every day is the resilience of the Haitian people. Whether most of them are sleeping under a simple sheet as shelter, they still can smile and very excited about life. Instead of tears, they transform their fear into sarcasm, instead of mourning, they are showing how grateful are they for being alive and worshiping according t their beliefs with faith and devotion. Amongst them, I count many friends and relatives.
Everything that is happening now in the country makes me feel humble.
Like my visit last week to town of Beaudin. Although close to Leogane and Jacmel, it is unbelievable to see the misery existing there. It takes one hour and forty five minutes be motorcycle to get to a place that could easily be doing in twenty five minutes because of the condition of the road. It is really hard to imagine such way of life. This is a place where what supposed to be normal or basic is a luxury. Even drinking water is not a right for those people. Most of them don’t even know if the word “ELECTRICITY” is even real. For all their life, they have not seen it at least once.
However, being around those poor individuals makes me humble. Everything they do is an expression of misery for me, whereas, they manage to turn everything to joy. I am mad hearing their stories about how far and how difficult was it to go get some water miles away down the cliff, but the smile they have by sharing such story make me feel stupid. How can someone has courage to keep going on with life? How can someone can be so happy when what it suppose to be a right or the basic of life becomes a luxury? Besides, they are on their own. And no one cares about their existence.
“I have a dream today” that one day people many areas of Haiti will be able to drink clean water to quench their thirsts, and eat to satisfy their hunger. I will not rest or die before it happens.

An orphange yard in Beaudin.

The source of water of the town.

On the way to the town of Beaudin

The road.

Haiti after a week

After spending one week on the streets of Port-au-Prince and Leogane, there isn’t enough words to describe the situation although it is three months now since the disaster happened. In order to have a better understanding urgency existing in the Haiti, I decided to take a walk around the city. Mostly, I could not believe that so many places that I use to know do not exist anymore. Besides, due to the condition of the road, it is extremely difficult to get around the city. It can take two to three hours just to travel one two miles. But if you the art of driving in Haiti, it can be a lot faster. As I walked down the street where my dear friend Luc died, I became to realize how tragic was January 12 for the population. I understand how hard it is for people who hard to be in Haiti during tragedy.

I decided to visit with some families who lost everything on January the 12 disaster. I scarcely can believe where the courage to smile comes from. As I was visited with Luc’s family, I had to be strong and hiding my tears from them. However, it was so sad to hear them telling how they slept when the rain came. Can you imagine a six-year old boy standing on corner of some piece of metal waiting for long hours before to be able to sleep at 11 in the evening? Not more than one hour after I left it started to rain. The worst part is the landlord asking them to move out of the property. Four people living in a space smaller than the kitchen they used to own is not fun at all. Unfortunately, this is the new way of live on the streets of Port-au-Prince: eat whatever you can find, drink whatever is giving, sleep wherever you find, and smile to as much as people you meet. However, we are so thrilled to be here between those humble people.

A qui se confier?

On dit souvent que ''Nul n'est prophète a son pays. ''Ou encore ''Ce n'est qu'après leurs mort que les grand sont devenues grands.'' Si nous comprenons bien ces dires la, nous saurons aussi pourquoi les Humanistes ont toujours été l'objet de persécutions et des offenses. Commençant par le plus grand des Humanistes – Jésus Le Christ – Lui qui était venu pour nous apprendre le chemin de la perfection : l'amour de Dieu et du prochain, et le respect de soi-même et le respect en vers autrui. Était devenu un sujet de moquerie pour nous qui lui avons été crucifié. Prenons le cas du vrai père de l'Amérique, le Voyant Lehi qui prophétisait 600 av. J-C de la venue d'un Messie, on cherchait à lui ôter la vie. Parmi les persécuteurs, familles et amis.

Pouvons-nous aussi ignorer la mort injuste du père de la philosophie morale – Socrate ? Lui qui a légué beaucoup pour l'humanité relatant la vie en communauté. Ne connaissant même pas que la naissance de Seigneur était de l'autre coté de la porte, il a enseigné a ses élèves que le sage doit espérer en un séjour divin après la mort.

Des humanistes comme : Mohandas Gandhi et Mère Theresa en Inde, Nelson Mandela de l'Afrique du Sud, Harriet Tubman des Etats-Unis, ou encore plus près de chez nous, l'immortel Jean Dominique. Ces gens là ont combattu non seulement pour la liberté mais aussi pour l'épanouissement éthique de l'humanité. Leurs contributions apportées influencent le monde à perpétuité. Ainsi, Jean Dominique n'a pas été un homme politique comme on veut faire son portrait, mais il a embrassé la politique comme véhicule de changement, pour faire connaitre aux politiciens le sort des défavorisés du pays.

Ainsi, Guesno Mardy a choisi de faire connaitre au monde que les enfants sont le demain de notre société. on n'arriverait jamais à comprendre son service a l'humanité tant qu'on n'aurait pas la chance voir des enfants qui ont été aidés à réaliser ses potentiels. Guesno Mardy n'avait pas choisi le chemin des orphelins à des buts lucratifs. Mais étant qu'Humaniste tout comme les autres Humanistes, il est quelqu'un qui vit et subit les misères que connaissent la majorité de la population Haïtienne ; il a décidé de ne pas laisser souffrir, comme il a, la génération montante de la société Haïtienne.

Les épreuves de Guesno Mardy ne sont a cause d'un intérêt mesquin, mais a cause qu'il est un vrai humaniste tout comme Mère Theresa qui a consacrée sa vie auprès des malades défavorisés. Encore, tout comme Harriet Tubman
qui a bravés tous les dangers pour l'émancipation des ''Negros'' entre les mains des ''Blancs''.

Aujourd'hui, s'il est demandé de citer un héro contemporain de la terre montagneuse, fièrement le premier à citer est Guesno MARDY.

Il est notre héro et l'inspiration pour la grande partir de la jeunesse haïtienne, particulièrement les enfants défavorisés.

D'ici ou dans l'au-delà, ses œuvres seront toujours reconnues.

 

Spenchy 

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