When we set out for Haiti to deliver the shipment of Ecofiltros, we were prepared for the worst. After all, we had seen the pictures, read the stories and had been well-warned about all the hazards: from typhoid and hepatitis to chaos and violence.
Upon arriving, the ever present, Iraqi-like, UN and US military presence only served to confirm that this was one dangerous place. Every third car on the road was an armored tank, and the constant racket of twin-engine black hawk helicopters hovered in the air.
Yet what we found on the ground was that amidst the rubble and chaos, Haiti lives. Goods are sold on every corner, vibrant mangos are in season, hair salons abound and warm Creole greetings follow us everywhere. Remarkably, people go about their everyday lives.
This seems all the more amazing when we enter the center of town and see the destruction. The Haitian National Palace, which on any other day, would have impressed us with its flawless white façade and matching domed pavilions has collapsed on itself, tumbling from the massive shake of the 7.0 magnitude earthquake.
Nearly two months later it remains that way, like a half-eaten wedding cake. All around it, in what was once a park, tents are scattered giving shelter to those who have none. Providing a temporary solution that now seems permanent.
Tent villages are everywhere in Port au Prince. Some are huts made of sticks and covered with tarp or bed-sheets, others are crisp, igloo-shaped tents that are the Rolls-Royce of the tent world. There are thousands of people living in tents at the old golf course, and many more just sprawling in the streets. It is the place where people eat, drink and create waste. And with each family sharing less than a 6 x 6 area. It’s virtually impossible to keep the place orderly and hygienic. Sewage and garbage abound.
Clean drinking water is a vital necessity. But the earthquake, lack of proper sanitation and years of neglect have taken a toll on water supplies. Just seeing the river that runs through Port au Prince is like watching a plastic-filled toilet.
To solve this problem some of the camps have set up shallow wells to meet their water needs, others have water delivered by the truckload. But many of these are unsuitable for drinking.
That’s why we have brought Ecofiltro to Haiti.
All in one piece
The filters had been sent ahead on a container, but due to the massive back-ups in aid to Haiti, the total delivery time took about a month. Food for the Poor, a US organization working in Haiti had cleared the filters through customs and stored them. Our goal was that once in Haiti we could meet with Food for the Poor and determine who would receive the filters.
Food for the Poor is a modern building and warehouse that have withstood the earthquake with minimal damage. There is plenty of activity there with containers coming in, trucks going out and well-armed Jamaican guards to make sure it all goes smoothly.
The folks at Food for the Poor are really admirable. Here they are, nicely dressed, polite and smiling, working to help others. While they themselves are the victims, having lost family members, friends and homes. You see that generosity everywhere in Haiti.
At the warehouse we open up a few boxes and exhale a sigh of relief at seeing that they are in one piece. Beth and Clement are in charge and we will train them along with another staff member, called Béni which means “blessed”. They will then train others and distribute the filters to the areas most needed. The English/French/Creole session goes rather well and before long Béni is training us.
Some of our donors have specifically asked that their filters go to the Franciscans at Croix de Missions and to The Sisters of Charity (Mother Teresa´s nuns) who have worked in the poorest and most devastated areas of Haiti for decades.
First though, we have to find them. The roads in Port au Prince are traffic-filled, so our driver Nesti is an expert in U-turns, winding his way around in search of short-cuts. Eventually, more than an hour later we reach Croix de Missions.
Amid the rubble, hope
It seems almost biblical the way that the earthquake struck the Croix de Missions church, ripping off the entire facade, shattering the bell tower to pieces on the ground. The rubble is still lying there as a testimony to the force of God and nature.
But inside the church compound hope abounds. On one side. where only two of the four walls remain, choir practice is in full session. In the courtyard, there is a line patiently waiting to see Brother Jean, a Belgian who is the nurse and when needed, impromptu dentist. By a signup sheet, a couple have come to volunteer for the different upcoming Easter activities.
Father Dempsey, the Fransiscan pastor marvels at the change.
“We’ve learnt, what we did not know before the earthquake” he says “to work together”.
Not all days are like this one though. Father Dempsey and the other brothers have dealt with plenty of dificulties. There is an urgent need for all the basics, and under the pressure tempers easily flare. It is common to have fights break out after food distributions and as always drinking water is a basic necesity.
In the small kitchen of what is left of the rectory we carry out a training on the Ecofiltro. No need to practice our pathetic French or Creole, Father Dempsey just happens to be from Xela, Guatemala´s second largest city.
Brother Jean is busy pulling a molar and has only a few minutes to spare, but we train him as well. He tells us“This filter is very 
important because the water is so polluted that the women not only get sick from drinking it, but also develop urinary and vaginal infections from bathing with it”.
To Bel Air
Mother Teresa’s nuns, the Sisters of Charity, have a house not too far from Croix de Missions in the section of Bel Air. Unlike the famed California town with the same name, this Bel Air is one of the worst slums of Port au Prince. On several occasions, it has been the site of riots, kidnappings and killings. In 2005, international peacekeeping forces had to occupy the area to restore order. Adding to this already destitute place, came destruction with the earthquake.
But behind the walls of the house, it is peaceful and the sisters live by Mother Teresa’s words “ we must give hope, always hope”
As we come in, the sisters are in full activity, unloading a container of food with the help of ten or so volunteers. They have been providing aid to some of the more than half a million Haitians who are homeless, living in the nearby tent cities.
What Sister Genova, the mother superior, lacks in height she makes up in presence.
With just a word she makes everyone gather around for the training.
Curious eyes open to see the filters. Some of the participants quietly nod, other ask questions, but everyone is attentive. Before the talk is over, Sister Genova has coordinated the delivery of 500 filters to be picked up at Food for the Poor warehouse the next day.
There is no time to waste. The children’s home, which was right next to the sisters´ house was completely demolished, miraculously without killing any of the 150 children inside. The children have now been sent to another part of the country, but the very sick ones, mostly babies and toddlers, remain beneath a new make-shift structure.
It is a difficult thing to see.
A young mother holds her twins, born prematurely right after the earthquake and now suffering from fever and malnutrition. There are bottles to be made, babies to bathe. Clean drinking water will surely help here.
It is getting late and soon Bel Air will be in pitch-black darkness like all of Port au Prince since there is no electricity. A crowd is gathering outside the sisters’ impatient for a handout. But Sister Genova does not seem concerned, she is in God’s hands.
Working with Chavez
The epicenter of the earthquake was in a coastal town approximately 25 km from Port au Prince called Leógane. This town was destroyed almost in its entierty, with 90% of building collapsing. Several camps have been set up in the area, but we had hear that the Venezuelan-run camp was well managed and decided to pay them a visit.
At first glance, this camp is different. It is orderly. More like M*A*S*H than the mayhem we had seen elsewhere. Green army tents are neatly lined, each serving a purpose. Beneath each tent, chapel, town hall, school and health clinics are held. I have to swallow my pride and admit that Chavez, the notorious Venezuelan president, knows a thing or two about organization.
This place may appear like a military camp, but it is run by youthful doctors not soilders. To our surprise, the head is Dr. Pablo Garcia who hails from none other than Guatemala. “We have five camps” he tells us “with 1,800 people in each and we are opening five more”. At each camp they have a well for water, but he voices the same concern as the Belgian brother over the high level of urinary tract infections found in women.
And he has another worry, the upcoming rainy season.
“Soon it will start raining and that will really cause an increase in water contamination.” he says. We offer to provide him immediately with 100 of the large filters, capable of providing water to 10,000 people a day.
As we head out of Leógane, past miles and miles of camps, it is overwhelming to see so much need.
We enter Port au Prince and a giant tank zooms by us, it is easy to want the governments of the world to solve this problem. But then I remember another of Mother Teresa’s words “Do not wait for leaders; do it alone, person to person” one Ecofiltro at a time.
The Municipality of Guatemala City has selected the inventor of Ecofiltro, Fernando Mazariegos for their upcoming book HECHO EN GUATE, Made in Guatemala. This book will highlight exceptional individuals, places and products which have contributed to Guatemala. It is a great honor for Mr. Mazariegos to be included.
The Dutch organization Deepei Netherlands, winner of the Environmental Business Award 2009, selected Ecofiltro as the only project in Latin America to be included in a documentary series on projects that support the environment. Deepei Netherlands, known for working closely with international organizations to protect the global environment was in Antigua in February to shoot the documentary. During their visit they met with the inventor of Ecofiltro, Lic. Fernando Mazariegos, visited the Ecofiltro factory and interviewed users of the Ecofiltro in their homes documenting how the filter has reduced disease and made a real change in their lives.
