March 29, 2004

CALL FOR HELP

I have been talking with a Haitian business owner about vastly increasing the scale of production of the wastepaper charcoal alternative that all of you have read about in my update letters. I think the project can be made to work, and Haiti’s self-destructive reliance on charcoal can be greatly reduced. The reason I am writing is because I have a great need for someone stateside who would like to help out with the project by doing research. I’m not sure how many volunteer hours I am asking for at the moment, but I need someone who is willing to communicate with me about it daily or at least every-other-day over e-mail for a while.

The best person would be someone with an engineering background, but environmental concern and wanting to help people in Haiti are the greatest requirements. Also, a good internet connection and a willingness to call people you have never heard of before.

Hoping to hear from at least one of you soon,
Chris

EMAIL UPDATE:

Dear Everybody:

Does anybody remember Alf, the obscure 80’s sitcom featuring a lovable little alien who ate cats? Well, Alf shares this lovable quirk with many Haitians. I have been told that they taste like rabbit except more tender and flavorful. What this means for me personally is my cat will probably get eaten when it gets bigger. Our cook Camilla tells me she has lost three cats to unknown persons with a craving for cat meat. Every morning I am woken by little Chatblan biting my feet and I will be sad when she is no longer underfoot (and on the table, on my computer, in my laundry, etc.). I am trying to prepare myself for the fateful day in advance.

It is a very exciting time to be in Haiti. A full month has passed since Aristide’s departure and the killings have decreased substantially. Traffic is back on the roads in full force too. However, the police are still too unsure of their position to stop vehicles on the highway and solicit bribes. City power is on today for the first time in about three weeks. What makes me the most happy though is to see the children attending school again. Haitians attending school stand taller and smile more and education is absolutely essential for Haiti. I have some hope for Haiti’s future now that there is an environment of freedom of expression again. Aristide’s former supporters have been fading into the background and the talk is centered around what the new government will look like. A group of businessmen known as the group of 192 is likely to play a major role and dysfunctional state owned power company and phone company are likely to privatized. Everybody would like to see the new government have accountability to the people it serves.

About 3000 foreign troops are in Haiti now. About half are American Marines, but there are many French soldiers, a few poorly equipped Canadians and some Chileans. When I drive through Port au Prince, I enjoy noting the contrast between the different soldiers. The Marines patrol the city in large groups with full battle gear in Humvees and armored personnel carriers whereas the French soldiers drive around in little Renault jeeps and carry little folding machine guns and roll up the sleeves of their uniforms. I think the French are having a better time of things over here because they speak a similar language. Military helicopters daily pass over us as they travel to Saint Marc, Gonaives and Cap Haitien.

I realize weather is a boring topic but please humor me. It is the end of the dry season here and dust is everywhere. The dust is contaminated with fecal coliform and who knows what else so many people have respiratory infections, including myself. I’m looking forward to the start of the rainy season and the growth that comes with it. The rain will bring other problems though. Once when I was speaking with some Haitians I told them where I come from has almost no dust, but I don’t think they believed me.

I should have spent the whole weekend getting over my cold, but this morning I drank some strong cough syrup and went out fishing with a neighbor. We saw some jumping dolphins and I reeled in a 15 pound barracuda.

I am really enjoying being here in Haiti during these exciting times. I thank God for my life here when I think that I could be working a boring job in some rainy, cold northern climate. A few people have recently contacted me about coming for a short while to help out at Clean Water for Haiti and learn more about the ministry. I encourage others to do so too. A trip to Haiti might suit you particularly well if you have a taste for cat meat and you’re tired of being ostracized because of it. Stay away from Chatblan though.

Our work is continuing. I have been putting a lot of effort into our well drilling program lately and learning a lot of stuff. Unfortunately, we started to drill in an area three weeks ago and the well still isn’t done. We only drill community wells except in rare cases. For a community to qualify for a Cup of Cold Water/ Clean Water for Haiti well they need to meet a number of conditions first. One of these conditions is that the community raise the equivalent of about $200 which we set aside for a time and then return to the community water committee to use for maintenance and repair of the pump. The committee must also designate people to learn pump repair, find community land on which to place the well, etcetera.

The community of Tikouyo is where we are currently drilling. I found it very encouraging that this community was able to come together and raise the required funds, because like most rural communities, they are very poor. In a truly terrible act, a group of thieves attacked the committee head with a rock when he had much of the raised funds in his pocket. The thieves not only stole the money, but put a dent in the man’s head and broke his arm. Now a month later, the man’s arm is still in a cast but his head has healed. The community finished to raise the money after the robbery. I desperately want to finish the well in this community to give them all some encouragement. We had to abandon our first site after 2 weeks because the bore hole walls caved in but now we are drilling through rock. Drilling through rock is slow, but there is no danger of the well collapsing. Drilling through rock with our new roller bit is a learning experience, and I have had to repair and strengthen some of our equipment. We have reached 50 feet at the new location and we hope to be finished drilling when we reach 80 feet or so.

I have been traveling around with Timarc (a Haitian worker we have who really likes to talk and meet new people) to assess different communities water needs and talk to them about our well drilling program. It has been really good to get out into the countryside and see new parts of Haiti. Some places have been very far indeed. At one point I asked to see where people get their drinking water in a particular community. The road was closed to 4 wheeled vehicles but I somehow managed to get my motorcycle up a windy, 45 degree trail covered with large, round, slippery boulders. Much to my chagrin, there are thousands of people living somewhere along that impassable trail and the most interesting thing to pass by them that day was me as I kept falling off my motorcycle. I suppose it can’t hurt to provide entertainment from time to time. The word “ Haiti” means “ Mountainous Land” in the language of the now-extinct Arawak Indians. Haiti’s mountainous nature will continue to pose problems for our well drilling program.

What our well drilling program could really use is a director/ administrator here in Haiti. I have enjoyed working with the well drilling crew but I fear that over the long term the mission would suffer for it because there is just so much to do. If you think God may want you out here in Haiti, talk to me about it.

Haitian currency has reacted oddly to the political upheaval and caused a big problem for the mission. 6 weeks ago money was trading at $1 US for $8.60 Haitian. On the weekend, $1 US would only buy $5 Haitian, although it’s recovered somewhat to $6.50 That means that money coming in will only buy us about 70% of what it would in February. For the present time we are getting by on the Haitian currency we previously bought but it will soon be gone. I’m hoping that either prices will drop or the Haitian dollar will drop in value again. Tal is currently promoting the mission and fundraising in Canada. A few big items we would like to purchase soon are a Larger roller bit for drilling through rock (about $500) and a motorcycle ($900-$2100, depending on size). Fortunately, these items are to be purchased with U.S. dollars.

Clean Water for Haiti is now incorporated as a Washington State non-profit, and soon we will have 501-C3 tax exempt status. For the meantime though, US donors aren’t able to receive usable tax receipts.

Donations can be sent to Clean Water for Haiti at:

Clean Water for Haiti

C/O Vernon Alliance Church

2602 43rd avenue

Vernon , B.C. V1T 3L1

Canada

To those of you who have been contributing to my personal financial support, thank you very much. As of now, I can no longer receive donations through my old church, the Bellingham Vineyard, which has folded. Hillcrest Chapel, a large church I attended a several times while I was in college, has offered to make my deposits and write tax receipts from now on. Checks should be made out to Hillcrest Chapel and a note must be included with your donation stating the donation is for Chris Rolling, missionary to Haiti. At least one person has a monthly direct deposit from their bank account set up – be sure to do the necessary changes. The address is:

Hillcrest Chapel

1400 Larrabee Ave ,

Bellingham , WA 98225

Blessings, Chris Rolling