Four years ago, my Mom and I went to Haiti with a church group building solar power water treatment systems there — Living Waters of the World. The team was broken into two groups: one which built the low tech, robust water treatment system and the other to teach the community to preserve the clean water produced by the system (Mom’s specialty). The trip was a success in that we built the system, met some great people, and got a chance to help. But Haiti is a tough place and I left more troubled than uplifted by our work there.
This most recent storm ravaging Haiti is just the latest in a long line of tragedies befalling this island. Haiti birthed the only successful slave revolt in history and was the first black republic. As a result and a punishment, Europe and the US isolated it politically and economically for almost the first fifty years of the 19th Century — the key timeframe for embracing the industrial revolution in manufacturing, agriculture, and commerce. That isolation from trade and development has left Haiti stunted in way from which it has never been able to recover.
Political discord, coups, repression, failed democracy and ping-pong of power struggles over 50 years between the political leadership of the Duvalier family (Papa and Baby Doc) and Aristide followed. Natural disasters have continued to take a toll on this poor island nation, including the devastating earthquake of 2010 that leveled Port-au-Prince.
Layered upon all that history is forty years of a failed welfare state, where well-meaning governments, global aid organizations, and charities (like ours) have ravaged the economy and decimated fundamentals of supply and demand, replacing them with a waves of abundance then scarcity of food and goods that crushes efforts to grow the economy. What should we do with such poverty and despair so close to home? Every well-intentioned effort seems to only further drive Haiti toward utter dependence on outside assistance.
When we were there, we built a water system to help 500 people get access to clean water who would otherwise not have had clean water. We also built a sustainable water business that would fund operations going forward. Sometimes its just too overwhelming to look at the macro truths of Haiti because it all seems so broken. In those moments, I focused on just helping one person for that one day.
So today I remember the wonderful local team members who work tirelessly in hard conditions, I recall the sweetness of the children and community members we met, and the hard work and determination of the clergy working to bring hope to this community. Here are some of my favorite pictures from our trip sent along with my best hopes for speedy recovery.
Boonedoggler 
Thank you for putting my feelings in words. It just seems like they can’t get a break.
LikeLike