I wrote the following blog to help raise funds for two wells in Haiti, one near the orphanage and one in the village. Because of God’s provision, the needs have been met but I thought I’d post the blog anyway so that you have the information below. Now I can concentrate on raising the funds for the last eight homes in the village we hope to build, Lord willing, in April. Please help as the Lord leads.
Most Haitian homes are without water or electricity, so it is a daily routine to send the children to get water for the home. From our village it is a two or three mile hike to the water source. From the orphanage it is even farther. Once there, they have to fill the five gallon, thirty-five pound bucket, put it on their heads and walk back the two or three miles to their humble homes.
Because of the needs of the community and as a backup to our own well, I feel the strong need to put in a hand pump well in the village and near the orphanage. Then the children pictured in the attachments won’t have to hike so far for water in the heat and with such a back breaking weight on this head. It would appear that the thirty-five pounds of water is about half of their weight, as they don’t appear to weigh much more than seventy pounds.
Previously there was a well near the village but it has since broken down. It was in constant use, as a line of women and children waited their turn to pump the precious water into their buckets. Now, it is a long hike daily. A well will cost $6,700.00 US and will be drilled by a Mennonite well driller who basically drills it at cost.
I was driving back to the village when I saw this boy with the water on his head and I asked Cliff to take a picture of him. The Land Cruiser was bouncing down a dirt road approaching the village. As I asked Cliff, “Did you get it??” I look over and the camera is bouncing to the cadence of the vehicle. Cliff responds, “I have no idea!” The Lord blessed us with this one good picture, out of the ten or so Cliff took, so that we could show you the difficulty the little guy was having carrying such a weight back to his home.
If you would like to help, please go to MercyIntl.org to donate or to find out more about what we are doing to alleviate the suffering that these sweet people are still enduring. It has been over four years since the earthquake killed over 300,000 people. This little guy and others need our help.
