Dlo

Dlo, or water in English, is a precious commodity that is taken for granted far, far too often in the United States.  I am always reminded of its importance when I am in Haiti.  Carrying water is a common chore for most Haitian children.  Depending on their proximity to a well, they often times have to carry water a long distance.

At the Safe House, we have this electric pump.

When we have electricity and when it is functioning properly, it pulls water from the well behind the house and takes it to the roof where there is a large plastic tank.  Then, gravity carries the water through the pipes to the house.  Over the summer when the house was vacant, someone cut the pipe that goes down into the well.

Until the pipe gets fixed, I have to use a backup method for getting water.  I like to refer to it as "Haitian style".

I take this 5 gallon bucket.

And I walk downstairs and outside to the hand pump.  Many people on our street use this well to get their water, so I usually have to wait my turn.

When it is my turn, I have to pump the handle up and down about thirty times until the bucket is full.  Usually with small children watching and commenting with surprise saying things like, "Oh wow, the white girl knows how to pump water"

When the bucket is full, I carry it up this flight of stairs...

And take it into my house to empty it into this "doum" or barrel that sits next to the door.

Then, I repeat this process about five to ten more times until the doum is finally full again.  I actually kind of enjoy this process as crazy as that sounds, and I'm not really in a rush to get the pipes fixed (remind me that I said this when school starts and I'm too worn out to carry water).  It gives me a chance to chat with the neighbors, it makes me feel more Haitian, it is a good work out, and it helps cut down on water usage.

Once the doum is full, I use a pitcher to get water for whatever I need.  When washing dishes, I have two "kivet" or basins in the sink.  One with soapy water for washing and one with bleach water for rinsing.

When the water is dirty, instead of dumping it down the drain, it is dumped into this bucket in the bathroom.

Then, I use that water to force flush the toilet after using the restroom.

When it comes to showering, you have to take what we call a "bucket bath".  We keep a bucket of water in the shower along with a basin.  When showering, you stand in the basin so that it catches the dirty water so that it can be saved for flushing.

please ignore the creepy lighting, the power was out so it was dark

This process is nothing new for me.  I've had to use this method many times over the past three years living in Haiti.  However, over the summer many of you requested that I blog more often.  Frequently, I don't post about things because they seem normal and mundane to me.  I forget that everyone at home doesn't get to experience all of these parts of life.

Hopefully now, you will truly appreciate your washers, hot showers, and flushing toilets and keep those people in mind that have to walk long distances everyday to get water for their families.