Waves For Water at the U.S. Open of Surfing, Huntington Beach, California

The U.S. Open of Surfing, Huntington Beach, California

Bob Hurley & Jon Rose at the U.S. Open of Surfing, Huntington Beach, California

Turning contaminated water into safe water, turning death into life

Can see Hurley/W4W exhibit @ the U.S. Open all week

We are all aware of the 'world water crisis'

To the question, “What can I do?” . . . we have the answer.

By carrying a bunch of filters when traveling to remote areas of the world,

one person can bring people a new source of clean drinking water.

ONE PERSON CAN CHANGE THE WORLD FOR AN ENTIRE VILLAGE.

Save a family for an entire year for only $20!

Imagine millions of travelers doing this. Now we’re changing history.

Jon Rose in Haiti

Waves for Water is a 501-C3 Non-Profit Corporation – Fed. Tax # – 27-1319189

Read about the Waves For Water story in the Orange County Register

More stories & videos in previous posts. Thank you.

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?”

www.sambazon.com

New video by Jarrod Holbrook now appearing on CNN  http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/world/2010/07/14/holbrooke.haiti.water.filter.cnn?iref=allsearch

To see more videos visit:  www.raincatcher.org

“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!”

What else can I say…

Crazy  &  happy,  Jon

* to see more images of Saut d’eau: http://www.davidzentz.com/client.html?view_type=portfolio&id=12818&#/client/template.xml?aaa=portfolio/12818

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…

Much love!     JR

* to learn more about UN Minustah : http://www.un.org/en/peacekeeping/missions/minustah

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 . . .

Aunt Leslie, you are with us always…

Much love,   Jon

Jon Rose in Haiti

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.

Much love…
Jon

Fast forward – I’ve spent the last two days living with the Chilean battalion of the UN Minustah Military (Minustah is the name for the UN’s Haiti operation). The Chileans are in charge of patrolling and securing the North section of Haiti. My stay here is part of a preliminary mission to start laying the foundation for a collaboration/partnership between the UN Minustah operation here and my water program. The idea is to utilize the Minustah Military’s knowledge of this area to help us establish and operate our program. It is an exciting step towards our goal of getting everyone in Haiti clean water; this kind of support is the very backbone of such a goal. The Chilean soldiers are hospitible and genuine people. They have let me in to their world and I will never forget it. Especially their cook, who insists on calling me “California!”

It’s been nice to be away from the intensity of PAP. However, the day before I came up here to the North I visited two camps in Cite Soleil – Haiti’s most desperate and crime-ridden area. There is a project going on there, spearheaded by Patricia Arquette, that involves our filtration systems. She has created a testing facility in one of the tent camps to try a few different sustainability concepts. Patricia and her team have mainly been addressing the sanitation challenges of this area – human waste, trash, etc., all of which are on the verge of creating a secondary disease-driven epidemic. She is incorporating our filter model into her program to combat the potable water challenges, but her main focues have been on composting, recycling, and bio-digesting. It was an incredible project to see and I’m honored to be a part of it.

I really believe that there is such enormous opportunity in Haiti right now. We have a chance not only as foreigners, but as humans, to try aggressive solutions here, solutions that in the future could end up being benchmarks for the global community. There are amazing people here doing amazing things, and once again I feel confident in our ability, as a species, to collectively change our destiny.

More to come…

Humbled and grateful,
Jon

Yesterday I went to some villages only accessible by a 4 wheel drive up a riverbed. In each mud/stick hut there was our filter systems… Operating perfectly! One mother said that her baby had severe diarrhea and now with the filter, it has stopped. It really is that black and white…. They say the differences in their health are nothing short of extreme.

There has been more civil unrest in PAP. Organized crime is getting more organized… And there are more and more reports of kidnappings and killings. Some aid workers have now been victimized. Which, is unsettling since I have been out in the thick of it almost everyday. I am relying on trust and quick wit… Psychologically, that’s all I have.

About to crack into my trusty Jack Daniels stash. I’m banking on it to make the bags under my eyes feel less heavy.

Signing off cause this update is now making me sweat more….

Jon

Been here for 2 days now and finally starting to adjust. Its a weird sensation for me to be back. On some levels I feel more comfortable than ever but there’s also been a lot of change. Mostly good changes – debris removal, better structures in the tent camps, and definitely a resumed sense of commerce and low level economic growth. But there has also been a vibrational shift within the people that is very noticeable. The sense of emergency has subsided and with that comes two things – most feel gracious for what seems to be a return towards normalcy… But for others, that normalcy is a return to a very unpleasant reality. The quake brought so much destruction and loss but it also brought people together… and in some ways, served as a distraction from what was already an incredibly hard life. It put a freeze on a lot of the existing problems because everything was about basic survival. Plus the amount of international attention and support. Now that the dust has settled the old issues are resurfacing in a sobering fashion.

For me, The experience this time is completely different. My sadness for their situation is the same except it’s not as specifically focused on quake victims, but rather the bigger picture – jobs, upcoming election, and corruption.

The focus, with my work, has shifted in he same manner. Less disaster relief — i.e. “band-aid” type solutions — and more long term ideas such as rain harvesting or potential well digging sites. Also looking into natural spring sources in the hills that could be contained and then piped down to villages.

On my way to Saint Marc with my bro/driver/comedian, Sylla. So great to see him. He’s been taking me to some of the regions he’s distributed filters to and I’ve been seeing firsthand the evolution of this program. He has done a fantastic job! The filter systems are in people’s huts and working great! These are all people I never demonstrated for and that is exactly the point. Sylla has taken the knowledge and started empowering his communities… Just as I’d hoped.

Please continue to spread the word. It DOES make a difference.
Much love!
Jon