To bring new sources of clean drinking water to Africa, Jack Rose created www.raincatcher.org. To bring these systems to the rest of the world, Jack’s son, Jon, founded Waves for Water.
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Pioneers in the beverage industry, Sambazon, asked the question, “What can we do with the strength, success & leadership position we’ve developed in our industry?
The answer is ‘Sambazon Warrior Up’ – an international campaign launched August 10, featuring a selection of characters in Jon’s generation who are asking the same question:
“How can I apply the strength, success & leadership, built up over my entire career, to a variety of global causes and challenges”. In other words,
“How can I, one person in the big world, make a difference?”
To bring new sources of clean drinking water to Africa, Jack Rose created www.raincatcher.org To bring these systems to the rest of the world, Jack’s son, Jon, founded Waves for Water.
‘Crazy & Happy’ is the first of several stories from Jon Rose – currently roaming Haiti as part of a new U.N. initiative to bring clean-water systems to the faraway and overlooked corners of the country.
“Being in Haiti has always been, and continues to be, both humbling and enlightening. But, for the most part, the context has been about the relentless work at hand. Over the course of a half dozen trips here since the January 12 earthquake, I have experienced spiritual epiphanies, physical breakthroughs, and emotional growth. And though this circumstance drives me and demands my full attention, I have always tried to soak up the culture around me, especially when I’m in the field.
There may be some antiquated models of humanitarianism that say you can’t have fun while you help people (i.e. they’re suffering, so we should too). But, I say, ‘Screw that!’ Go to the places where you can exercise your passions, live fully, and at the same time, provide some relief & refuge with solutions that help to restore the natural balance we are ALL entitled to. This is the core of what I founded W4W on – go out into the world, do what you love to do, experience new things, get out of your comfort zone, have fun, and help people in the process.
I have well-established networks all over Haiti now. Each one is lead by amazing individuals that have become dear friends. They are kind and generous with me – and it’s because of them I have been fortunate to gain access to the REAL culture on this island. I have always been thankful for this, and just a couple nights ago I had an extraordinary and life altering experience. I am indebted to my friend & guide, Fritz Pierre-Louis, for bringing me to the ‘magical place’ and exposing me to ’the source’.
He took me to a remote location in the hills above Port-au-Prince called Saut d’eau*(pronounced – Sodoh). It is a little village that hosts a Voodoo festival/pilgrimage attended by 20,000 people each year. People come from all over to visit the church, pray to the Virgin of Miracle, and bathe in a giant waterfall that is considered to be holy.
Just to enter the church, Fritz had to block for me as we jumped into a mosh pit of about 1000 people trying to squeeze through the front door. Once in the pit, there’s no way out. You just have to hope that the cluster you’re trapped in spirals towards the door and spits you into the church. It was similar to what I’ve read about in Brazil when a stampede breaks out at a soccer match.
Overwhelmingly intense – without Fritz I would have perished. After the church we set out to bathe in the waterfall, riding in the back of his pickup through little congested streets that smelled like earth and fried plantains. There were marching/dancing bands (similar to traditional ones you see in New Orleans) overflowing tiny roads – people drinking rum, selling local foods, and laughing. At one point the road locked up in both directions with cars and people clogging it like a fat filled artery. We turned the engine off and sat there in the middle of the chaos for two hours until a little window opened up for us to escape. It was awesome!
Finally, we arrived and, with the stars as our guide, we stood under the force of a 50 ft waterfall like brother iron crosses.
Afterwards, we found ourselves back in town celebrating, enjoying, and flowing like the very rum we drank. Little houses, scattered throughout the village, hosted individual Voodoo ceremonies, each with their own drum beat, dance, and current. We stopped at nearly every one and watched as each priest tried to summon their own principal spirit.
I get the chills, even now, as I recall the details of this amazing time and place – and could write an entire book on those 20 hours.
The whole experience was surreal. Kinetic. Alive. Historic. It was the primal power that makes up our life force, exposed like a nerve-ending, sensitive, pure and strong. Undiluted passionate connectivity with none of the fluff. I’m still buzzing.
I’ll sign off with a quote from Fritz’s friend, Jackson. While sitting in the back of the truck driving through the congested streets,
I yelled to him, ”This is crazy!” and he answered, “The crazy, to the world go!”
Everyday Jon sends me updates & images from the front lines. Upon reading today’s story I replied, You are reaching the ‘unreachables’, being shown the ‘invisibles’ and solving the ‘unsolvable’ . . . JR
Jon Rose returns to Haiti
“UN chopper flights never get old, especially on these classic Russian military birds, with Russian pilots to boot. Yet another day here right out of an Indiana Jones flick. The flight to and from Port-au-Prince & Cap Hatien (on the north coast) takes about 50 min and we get to fly real low to the ground – same journey by road is a challenging, full day trek. These missions are pure adventure, reigniting my long running desire to become a heli-pilot.
I just got back from 3 days up in Cap which marked the official kick-off of our UN Minustah* pilot project. We split the load of filters between two prospective networks (hospital & youth group) – and next, CIMIC officers from the Chilean Battalion will follow- up with the two groups in a few weeks to see who has really embraced the program. Then, based on that intel, we will send more filters and the soldiers will reinforce the proven networks. This distribution strategy is designed to continue indefinitely, eventually bringing safe, and independent, sources of drinking water to everyone who needs it.
At the local org that the general hospital works with for all their community based aid programs, Konbit Sante. I gave my clean water demonstration. The entire group ‘got it’ and were completely on board within minutes. Next, the CIMIC officers and I were taken to the area in which they’ planned to be giving these first filters out. They explained to us that this place, called Petite Anse, was one of the poorest and deprived regions around.
What they didn’t mention was that the area used to be (and still is) a trash dump site. It’s also a brackish lowland that floods with every rain. The people build shanty’s literally on or beside the sea of trash. In this environment, with the standing water, it becomes a toxic breeding ground for disease and sickness. The site is fill with children walking around half clothed and usually with some sort of open wounds. It’s amazing that they are surviving at all.
I am glad that we hooked up with Konbit Sante because, otherwise, we would have never known about places like this that are completely under the radar. This is the very reason why I have always partnered with local leaders/organizers. It’s THEIR area, not mine. They know the need and have the means to delegate the aid far better than outsiders. Our job is to bring the tools & training for making clean water. They then get these into the hands of those who most need them.
The second prospective network was a youth group in Melot that I had visited on my previous trip. They had organized a clinic for our arrival and by the end of our visit people were walking back to their houses with fully assembled filter systems in hand. It’s a good feeling to be driving away and pass someone walking home with their new system and a GIANT smile.
We accomplished everything we set out to – and the Chilean UN soldiers are AMAZING partners. I am eager to continue with this project. There are 9 other Minustah Military units stationed across the country and we will be doing what we did in Cap Hatien with all of them.
I’m tired (as usual) but completely content. Life is good…
I would like to take a moment to celebrate the life of someone very near to me. My Aunt Leslie lost her battle with cancer two mornings ago. My family and I are grieving the loss of a truly beautiful soul. My heart is completely with my uncle Mitch, in remembrance of her spirit.
This post is about remembering some of the profound experiences that I’ve had here in Haiti.
I remember. . .
My first few days down here shortly after the quake – full of adrenaline and willing to help … The eye’s of the triage patients we helped, the compassion for each other and their courage to persevere … The murky sunsets and the smell of burning trash … The first batch of water filters I gave out – to a pastor named Evans Louis … The first church service I saw in the tent camp below our base, people united, singing and embracing each other.
The devastation I felt when I saw my first fatality as a result of the quake … The roads all blocked by rubble, and knowing that rubble was once somebody’s home … All the brave volunteers I’ve encountered – moms, brothers, wives, rich, poor, etc … The first night it rained, thinking about all the displaced families in their makeshift tents.
Seeing the first baby that was born in our J/PHRO hospital … Giving my first demonstration of our clean water system in a little school in Saint Marc – bright eyed children in the front row … My first trip down to Jacmel, seeing the rich & beautiful landscape that Haiti has to offer … Tending to a girl with a broken pelvis, getting her transported to the hospital, then watching an elderly woman pass 5 min later.
Meeting Fritz, Sylla, Paula, Jean Paul and all the other great people that have helped us to get our filters out … Feeding formula to a malnourished infant at one of our mobile medical clinics – seeing life return to his eyes … Driving along side the airport runway, watching all the aid planes cued up to land – feeling hope in that.
Having my first ice cold Prestige beer – and my first nip of whiskey after a hard day … Looking up at the stars from inside my tent, while laying in a pool of my own sweat … Driving away from a tent camp that we gave filters to – and passing another one along the same road that I couldn’t help … Pouring my first batch of green-colored pond water through a filter in the field – drinking it – and having it work!
Feeling proud of the opportunity to do this work – and being part of a REAL solution.
Lastly, the realization that no decision is insignificant – every choice helps create a new thread in our evolution . . .
Still going…. I literally haven’t stopped moving since I got here. As my father likes to say at the end of another day in Haiti, “Incredibly busy, extremely happy!”
I sit here now at our base camp in PAP and ponder the past few weeks. I’m heading back to US tomorrow, so just gathering my thoughts over a cold Prestige. I spent the last few days in Jacmel visiting Paula. She has fully embraced our program down there and it was incredible to see her operation first hand. This work really is a collaboration based initiative. I simply cannot do it without people like her, or Fritz in Leogane, Sylla in St. Marc, Jean Paul in Port-au-Prince, etc. These natural leaders know their communities inside and out, and the style in which they distribute reflects that very knowledge. They are soldiers fighting to make their communities better . . . and our program is just one of their tools. I went to areas where whole villages are now operating entirely on our filter systems and not one of the villagers had a clue as to who I was. This is beautiful, and exactly the point. My task has been to empower a select few who then empower their community. It’s a viral, grassroots program that is thriving.
Being back in PAP after three days in Jacmel is an abrupt shift. But this time around I have a subtle sense of satisfaction flowing through me. I’ve said many times throughout my journey in Haiti that it is hard to ever feel satisfied with so much devastation and despair all around. But this trip was different. There is still just as many problems here, and in some cases even more than before the quake. But at least with the little sliver that I have some control over, things are noticably better. And with that comes a glimmer of satisfaction that I have been truly longing for.
I told a friend a few nights ago that when we follow your hearts, and make our decisions from that place, everything seems to work out for the best. There is a certain synergy that I have been experiencing lately that is a tangible affirmation of this way of living.
That said, I have a renewed confidence towards our quest to bring the people of Haiti clean water, mostly because I know I’m not doing it alone.
Waves for Water was created by Father-Son team, Jack &Jon Rose. Jon is currently traveling & working with Sean Penn’s team in Haiti.
All of us would like to extend a special acknowledgement to Dennis Haysbert, Sean Penn,Diana Jenkins and Patricia Arquette for their extensive donations of time, talent & funds. Together we will continue to bring our clean drinking water systems to the survivors in Haiti.
To those who have already helped fund our relief efforts – “Thank you, thank you, thank you”.
A massive earthquake and tsunami hit on February 27. The earthquake and tidal wave damage is devastating. The epicenter was just 5km from Save The Waves Coastkeeper office. Friends, colleagues and neighbors in coastal Chile need everyone’s help now more than ever. The destruction to infrastructure is severe, and includes massive damage to buildings and roads, drinking water systems, power grids, and communication. Aid and relief in the next few weeks will be crucial to help save lives.
Bringing clean water: Jon Rose in Haiti . . .Ron Mathis in Dallas . . . Mike Perkins in Samoa . . . Jon on a volcano in Bali.
The primary focus of our ongoing relief mission is to provide clean drinking water to hundreds of thousands of Chileans who are currently without water. Save The Waves has partnered with Waves for Water to bring filter systems for clean drinking water, and is currently distributing 1,000 filters – enough for 20,000 people in the earthquake zone to get clean water.
Because Save The Waves Coalition’s ongoing environmental work is in the same area as the disaster, the organization is uniquely positioned to help direct humanitarian relief efforts in the region. Patagonia Inc, the outdoor apparel company, has stepped up and provided significant support for this initiative, and has been rallying others to join the cause.
All donations to Save The Waves for Chile earthquake relief will go directly to humanitarian work on the ground in the devastated regions near the quake and tsunami epicenter. Humanitarian aid efforts will be focused in the rural coastal areas where help and aid are less available. Since Save The Waves is a well respected organization, with years of experience in coastal Chile, support for this effort will be extremely effective, with no bureaucratic roadblocks or delays -just pure aid for the coastal communities that are in dire need. Can learn more and participate @ www.savethewaves.org/news/view/111
In any situation, anywhere around the world, clean, safe drinking water is always at hand, once you have the right tools. To see how, watch the three minute video. . . andfor detailed, step-by-step, instructionsgo to www.wavesforwater.org/2009/06/water-filter-instructions .
Above the Rubble - Here’s a recent video of Jon and filters in Haiti by Julie Santos.
