Buckets of Rain and Shelter from the storm.

A scientific survey among the music buffs in Haven’s La Boule house has concluded that Bob Dylan’s ‘Blood on the tracks’ is the ‘Carlsberg’ Album (probably the best album etc...).
Haven's ‘young’ Water Sanitation engineer (and convert to Dylanism) reckoned that two of the tracks on that album: ‘Buckets of rain’ and ‘Shelter from the Storm’ would make a good title for a blog and given the conditions here last Sunday when we had torrential rain and strong winds for a six hour period, he was spot on.

There certainly were buckets of rain in the camps in and around Port Au Prince and there was very little shelter from the storm.

A visit to Camp de Sages, the next morning, where Haven are currently in the process of installing latrines and showers, puts the reality of life in camps into perspective. Committee leader Hugo points to the makeshift drainage channels around the shelters and the inadequate numbers of ‘Pwelas’ (Tarpaulines).

The drainage channels were inundated as rainwater and rubble were washed across the camp. But at least this camp is on high ground and shortly after the rains had stopped the water was gone. Not so however in our camps in Bon Repos (Good rest???). Bon Repos is low lying, so when the rain stops the waters remain. The cry of a very young baby echos around the camp and a young mother has to tend to baby while trying to make the shelter liveable again for another few days.

Haven usually installs ‘pit latrines’; but when the water-table is effectively at ground level, as it is in Bon Repos, you can’t use a pit!! So the local men, on a cash for work scheme, prepare the ground for a concrete tank which will sit partially above ground and partially below. The toilet cubicles will then be constructed on top of the tank. The tank will be vented and will need to be ‘de-sludged’ every four weeks.

In Camp se Sages by 10am on Monday morning, the ground is dry again, the wet clothes are dry and the people are in good spirits, the curious children run over shouting ‘Mon Blanc’ and shake our hands, the shyer ones hold on to their mothers’ hands but still extend a hand when we go over to them.

Back in Bon Repos by midday the air is heavy with moisture, the ground muddy but the children still greet us with shouts and the adults with Bonjou, alo, salut or bo’swa but always with a smile. It’s been said before, but the resilience the Haitian people is really astounding.

As we prepare to move on to the next camp we are asked how is Madame D or when will Madame ‘Deerdray’ be back. Madame D certainly made a huge impact here and helped in no small way to prepare her friends in the camps for the ‘buckets of rain’.

Come in she said, I’ll give ya, shelter from the storm!