Latest solar water well installation in Haiti – June 2014

This was my third trip to Haiti in the past 3 years. I've made these trips as part of a 3-man team along with my friend, Ronnie Sauer, who owns Southwest Texas Solar, Inc. in Eldorado, Texas, and his grandson. We have now installed 4 solar water wells for remote villages located in the southeast corner of Haiti. While we are not affiliated with the missionary group, Hispaniola Mountain Ministries or the non-profit organization, Barco's NightingalesFoundation, we have gladly given our time and expertise for these worthwhile projects for the people of Haiti.

The three wells we installed on the two previous trips helped get clean water to an area that used to get their water from an irrigation ditch that ran through the village of Anse-a-Pitres,Haiti. That water was not clean and helped contribute to the 30% mortality rate, mostly from water-borne diseases, among Haitian children under 12 years old. 

This recent solar water well is located in the mountain village of Boucan Guillaume, Haiti. It is a remote community that can only be accessed by a 4-wheel drive vehicle traveling over 20 miles from the nearest maintained road. The people in this village had to walk or ride burros 4 miles down a steep hill through a sparsely populated area to a spring-fed river for their water. The return trip was more difficult because they had to carry one or more of the common 5-gallon water containers (40 lbs. each). Women had a much more serious problem because they were frequently raped and sometimes murdered along this route.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It took us two days to get to this area of Haiti. First, we flew from Austin, Texas to Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic (DR) where we stayed one night. The next day we rode a bus for 8 hours to Pedernales, DR., which is on the border with Haiti, where we stayed in a hotel each night. Each morning, we crossed into Haiti.

Weeks before our arrival, we had shipped 6 solar panels, pumps, plumbing and electronics to the Dominican Republic where there is no import duty. To avoid the 30% import duty into Haiti, we had to smuggle all that equipment across the border in our 4-wheel drive truck. it seems counter-productive for the Haitian government to levy an import duty on equipment that can provide the basic necessity of life, safe drinking water, to remote areas in Haiti.

Our "smugglers route" took us far into the mountainous jungle, often driving along very narrow mountain roads that were barely wide enough for our truck and that dropped off hundreds of feet. In addition, we had to make several difficult river crossings. I did not ask what the penalty was if you get caught smuggling because at the time, that was the least of my worries.

This will probably be my last trip to Haiti. Just before this last trip, I wrote an installation manual that contains extensive instructions and lots of photographs showing the 40+ steps necessary to install a complete solar water well system. On this trip, I trained several Haitians and Dominicans who work for the missionary group – and had them do the installation while following the manual. The training was successful and I am confident that they will do a fine job on future well installations and all we will need to do is send them the equipment and the installation manual.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Working on these solar water well projects helped improve the living conditions for the people in the southeast corner of Haiti – but the personal satisfaction I received from doing something that will save lives was an extremely rewarding experience. I hope everyone gets to experience something like this in his/her life.