Men Anpil, Chay Pa Lou

Many hands make the load lighter

Over the last few months, I have learned time and time again just how difficult it can be to accomplish even small things while working in Haiti. Tasks that seem minuscule in the United States, like sending an email or uploading a picture, can sometimes take hours of waiting and multiple attempts due to inconsistent power and internet. Projects are halted while we wait for money to get where it needs to go or by lack of transportation to obtain the needed materials. Working in this type of environment can be frustrating for sure, but it has also taught me more than I could even begin to write about.

You may remember from an article I posted back in December that my main focus while in Haiti is a research project dealing with the installation and operation of a new erosion chlorinator in a municipal water system in the village of Cange, Haiti. Chlorination, along with filtration, has been used to treat the water in Cange since system improvements were finalized in 2012 by Clemson Engineers for Developing Countries (CEDC), making Cange the home of the first chlorinated, municipal water system in all of Haiti. Several commercially available chlorinators were tried in the system, but each seemed to have its own set of problems. Two of the biggest challenges were inconsistent chlorine levels and the need for electricity, which with the aforementioned power outages proved to be a huge issue.

Myself and Greg who has worked with me closely throughout this entire process.

When I first arrived in Haiti at the beginning of November, I was extremely excited to begin working with what, at the time, we thought was the perfect solution to all of our problems. This quickly proved to be problematic when the new machine failed and left us scrambling for a solution (you can read about that experience and what it taught me here). This was the first time I really saw just how important teamwork is while working in a resource constrained environment. It took two interns working in Haiti, our advisor, David Vaughn, working around the clock in Clemson, the manufacturer working quickly to send the needed replacement parts, a team traveling from the United States to Port-au-Prince, a connection between Port-au-Prince and Cange, several drivers, and our team of local water technicians in order to repair the broken machine. Working just from Haiti, it would have been impossible for everything to come together in a timely manner to fix the chlorinator. After the repairs were made, preventative measures were taken in order to keep the restored chlorinator from suffering the same fate as the first. It held on for a few more months, but ultimately failed again, sending us back to the drawing board.

During our weekly Skype call with David that week, I shared my concerns about the future of my project and wondered if it was even worth continuing at all. I could not believe that I had committed to coming to Haiti for a year and the whole project was in shambles. It was really a low point in the internship for me and I was discouraged, but through the process I was reminded of another important aspect of teamwork: picking each other up when you are down. David encouraged me that we were going to find another solution and reminded me just how important this project is not only for the people in Cange, but also for the potential role that this technology could play in other, similar environments.

Since the earthquake that shook Haiti in January 2010, the country has been fighting a major cholera outbreak. While people all over the country have suffered from the waterborne illness, Cange has been virtually unaffected by this unfortunate consequence of the natural disaster. This can be attributed to the fact that there has been clean drinking water flowing in Cange throughout the entirety of the crisis – water treated with chlorine. Chlorine is one of the most effective and proven methods of treating drinking water. Improving how we chlorinate the water in Cange was not only important for the sake of my project, but also to continue setting an example for what is possible even in the most resource constrained environments.

As we searched for a solution, even more people became involved. My good friend Chase Gabbard, a mechanical engineering senior at Clemson University, started using software to model and analyze why the chlorinator kept breaking. What we suspected was a fault in the design of the machine was supported by what the computer models were showing, so we decided it was not worth the risk to continue using the same model.

We contacted Erik Shell, the President at Fluidtrol Process Technologies, Inc. out of Huntsville, Alabama and told him about our program, the water system, and the problems we had been facing with our chlorinator. He not only worked quickly with us to come up with the perfect replacement design, but he and his team had it fabricated and ready for installation in just under a week. Did I mention they did this completely free of charge??? A team of students traveled many hours from Clemson to pick up the newly finished chlorinator in order to bring it down with them two days later for the annual CEDC spring break trip.

Very thankful for all the people in this picture: Erik Shell (far left) from Fluidtrol Process

Technologies, Inc. with the team from Clemson: Caleb, Natalie, Chase, and David Vaughn.

Watching all of these people come together for the sake of a small, rural community in Haiti reminded me of the Haitian proverb that states, “men anpil, chay pa lou,” which means “many hands make the load lighter.” Working on this project, and working in Haiti in general, has been such a bigger challenge than I ever thought it would be. Along with that though it has also been more rewarding than I ever could have imagined. Some of the tasks that I have worked on here in Haiti – including the chlorinator project – have proven to be heavy, but thanks to the team I have working with me, the burden has been shared and I cannot say thank you enough for that.

The new chlorinator has since been installed and is working flawlessly. I have finally been able to move on the next phase of the project – testing and analysis – which I’m sure will bring its own set of challenges, but with the team I have around me, I know there’s nothing that we can’t handle. Working together with others not only makes the project possible, it also gives you a stronger result in the end. This is an appropriate takeaway for work in Haiti whose flag bears the phrase “L'Union Fait la Force,” “In Unity There is Strength.” Thank you to all who have worked and continue to work with me during this internship experience. I could not do it without you!