On this trip, Ken Trahan left from Houma and met Jamie Orr in Miami where we traveled together to Haiti.  One of my priorities was to re-install the solar pump, which we brought back to the states for repair when we visited in November.  Jamie was conducting follow up training with the drill team and giving instruction on our new drilling bit.

We arrived in Port-au-Prince and stayed at Matthew 25 Guest House where we visited with Sr. Mary, Vivian, Patrick and the other guests.  With each stay, we are beginning to feel more and more like family. 

On Monday morning, Enor, our liason representative in Port-au-Prince for Haiti, arranged transportation and accompanied us to speak with Mr. Duval who will manufacture our chicken houses.  We went over the specifications and provided all of the details to begin our estimate.  As with every visit, Mr. Duval is a great advocate for the Haitian people.

Next to the school, Fr. showed us the manicured rows that were part of the new gardening class.  Children are being instructed on how to grow their own fruits and vegetables, what a great project. 

On Wednesday, Jamie and I went to the drilling site for the next well.  This well will provide water for a new ice factory in Jeremie, which is sorely needed.  The old ice factory had not functioned in years, so ice is sent on a ship from Port-au-Prince.  This is a three day trip, so you can imagine how much ice is wasted by the time it reaches Jeremie.  In about two hours, the team had the rig set up with the new drill bit and began drilling at 11 a.m. 

Jamie and I left the site and returned to Fr. Joe’s to observe our “Feed the Children” program.  After school, most of the children go home to a meager meal or no meal at all, so it was wonderful to see them eating a nutritious meal of beans and rice.  After lunch, we returned to the ice factory site for an exciting afternoon.  The new bit was working great and the team struck water at 27 feet.

There was a break in the weather, so we went to several well sites to take water samples.  Unfortunately, two of the wells have some concentration of salt water but the Ryan’s Foundation Well has clean water with zero salt.  The new school, which is on the same property as Ryan’s Well, is really moving along since we last saw it in November.  This school is on top of a hill, so the road that was built to drill Ryan’s well is coming in handy since all of the materials have to be brought to the site.

Friday was more of the same, wind and rain.  Jamie and the drill team worked in spite of the weather and were able to drill to 56 feet with plenty of water.  Between showers, I installed a switch on the solar pump, which will allow for water flow, even though the automatic shut off has been activated when the cisterns are full.  This will be a great help for those who work all day to prepare meals.