"Dlo se la
vie". Water is life. This is an occasional phrase you’ll see scribbled on walls
as graffiti, or painted on hand pumping stations attached to wells donated and dug
by various governments or organizations. In Haiti, water certainly is life, or
at least it is directly connected to the quality of one’s life. I am learning
that day by day here, most recently as our direct pipe connection was cut by
the town water department (I was shocked to learn there even was such a thing,
with an official office even!) after a miscommunication regarding an unpaid
bill. We are trying to work out the details of getting our pipe reconnected,
but in the meantime (and the meantime might be a while- simple things take a
long time here), we are living in a little more solidarity with our neighbors,
having to collect water from communal pipes and springs.
I’ll start
by explaining a bit about our situation, as it was upon arrival. Our house had
the rare convenience of having a pipe delivering a pretty steady stream of
water into our pipes. We have flush toilets, sinks, a kitchen tap, and a faucet
outside. The faucet has become a communal water source, mostly for neighbors
and church friends, but we never refused anyone as long as they complied with
the system in place, waiting in line and not creating too much ruckus and noise
while waiting to fill their buckets and used oil jugs. Mostly women, young
boys, and children came to get water all day long. When we needed water in the
house (the water pressure and volume was not enough to have multiple taps open
at the same time), we would simply shut the valve to the faucet outside,
quickly use what water we needed before turning it back on outside. It was a
pretty good system, and it kept us very aware of the demand of water, what a
precious resource it is.
It is hard
to ignore the amount of strenuous, back breaking work associated with water use
here. From the moment one arrives in Haiti, driving from the airport to their
destination, one passes countless Haitians walking along the street carrying
water. Sometimes on top of the head, sometimes in the hand, sometimes both. The
more creative water carriers engineer easier ways to make their work easier. I’ve
seen an old wheelchair re-purposed to carry a 5 gallon bucket, I’ve seen a
stroller carrying gallons, and my favorite is when I see clever little boys
pushing their hand crafted “ti machines” or little cars full of various jugs
and buckets. The children start this work (as well as other household chores)
at a very young age. A young neighbor girl, about 11 years old, came to get
water here on a daily basis. Initially, she would always take along the family
baby, who was about 2 when we moved in. He didn’t do anything, but it was part
of his daily routine to come to the water spigot and observe what went on
there. Now, he is almost 3, and he has his own little collection of mini
gallons that he carries over on his own, asking me to help him open the pipe
and fill them up. He mimics the behavior he has seen since he was a toddler,
sometimes even perching one mini jug on his head. The volume he’s carrying is
of course not much, but it is getting him in the habit, and also building
strength in his tiny body so that he can be a useful worker as he grows. This tendency
to make little worker bees out of young children begins at infancy. I was told
many parents purposefully choose not to support their young babe’s neck, hoping
it will develop the muscles on its own, muscles it will need later on to carry
a 5 gallon bucket, or a sack of charcoal.
Now, with
the change in our water situation, we are realizing what a gift and convenience
running water is. Once or twice a day, Jon walks down the hill to the local “sous”
or spring to bathe and fill up a 5 gallon water cooler jug that he then carries
back up the hill. Around 3 or 4 in the afternoon, I have to quit work to go
bathe in a local river with some women friends. Bathing is quite a community
activity, as people are always passing by the stream, either to do laundry,
bathe, or let their animals come to take a drink. After bathing, we continue a
little further to a randomly placed communal pipe. We carry a variety of
buckets and gallons. I did have a few days I successfully carried a 5 gallon
bucket on my head for the 7 or 8 minute walk back to our house, however my head
was indeed supported by my parents as an infant, and I fear my neck muscles
aren’t quite up to the task. I can assure you: it is not easy work. I am even
more blown away that young girls will do this over and over for several trips
each day, often balancing a full bucket on their head, and perhaps 2 to 4
gallon jugs in their hands. The other day I was out getting water with a
friend, and we came across her brother gathering firewood. He needed help
carrying it, and as I was clumsily arranging wood in my arms along with the
measly 2 gallons I was given to carry, I turned around to see my friend had somehow
managed to balance the biggest branch on top of the bucket which was already on
top of her head. She then proceeded to fill her arms with sticks and twigs too.
And she does this all with the grace of a ballerina while I look on in awe,
stumbling and slipping in the mud.
Knowing how
much work it takes to get the water to the house, I am very careful to conserve
each drop. I’ve disconnected the sink so that the waste water drips into a
bucket which then is used to flush the toilets. Each time we wash hands, we do
it over a basin to collect the grey water to give our thirsty plants a drink.
The days we are blessed with rain (which thankfully is happening more and more
in this season), we scramble to put out every bucket, basin, pot, and vessel we
have, under the eaves to collect what we can. Some of the housemates have even
taken to bathing directly in the rain showers.
I hope,
even when (or if) our water connection is re-established, that I can continue
to have the same mentality of conserving this precious resource. It’s been a
good experience, and I am happy to take another step towards living in
solidarity with my Haitian neighbors. Plus, my recent attempts at local river bathing
and water carrying have provided endless entertainment for those around me, so
if nothing else, there’s that. J
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