Day 6: Desperation

Yesterday we did two water truck stops.  We went back to Cite Soleil 21 first, and the second I jumped off the truck Fabian came running to me and said, "Alicia!"  She then took me along holding my hand to find Rozina.  She wasn't sure where she was but asked me if I wanted to meet her Mama.  She brought me to her home and I was introduced to her Mom.  What an honor that was!  When we got back to the water truck, I spotted Rozina in line waiting for water.  Fabian yelled, "Rozina, Alicia!"  The smile lit up Rozina's face as I embraced her.  How wonderful it was to reunite with these young ladies after just a few days from the first time we met.  I helped out with the buckets more today, and I noticed the desperation these people had for water in a different way.  These people new exactly which buckets were theirs but it seemed to me like many of them looked exactly the same.  They were protective of their buckets and were hesitant to let them go as they traveled through the line holding tight to them.  A fight broke out between two women and it hit me that this is their life.  They don't know when the water will be coming next, so they are desperate to get as much as possible when we come.  I talked with Fabian and Rozina before we left and they asked how old I was.  They were surprised to hear I was 29 and even more surprised when I told them I have three boys.  They giggled and laughed and we hugged and then they asked when I would come visit them again.  With all my heart I said, "Hopefully soon, beautiful, hopefully soon."  I am looking forward to sending a couple pictures down of the three of us with another trip in the near future, so they know I am thinking of them and praying for them.

I got to ride on the water truck again on the way to fill up and met Anel.  He shared his story with us.  He has two children and told us that his brother used to work the water truck 2005, 2006 and 2007 but then he died.  Anel took in his brother's two children, so now he has four kids.  He told me he supports their schooling and was very proud of that.  The hearts of the people I have met this week are amazing.

The second stop was Cite Soleil 17, our first stop we made the other day.  I was on the bucket line the entire time and made sure to make eye contact with all the people and say hello.  Through their desperation for water, they brightened up when I said Bonswa with a smile.  You really have to keep an eye on the bucket line, as people try to sneak their buckets in without waiting in line.  I had to tell one little boy numerous times, "Respect le lin" which is respect the line, while tossing his bucket off to the side.  He kept giving me this sad look on his face, but if I let it in, the people waiting would get extremely upset. 

It stormed last night and two kids from the water truck, Kanol and his cousin joined us for dinner.  When they arrived they were soaking wet.  They came from who knows where, through all the rain, to have dinner with us.  I'm glad Jean gave them a ride back home, so they wouldn't have to be walking out in the rain.  My thoughts were with the people living in the tent cities, and the tin shantis during the rain....Where are they?  Are they dry?  Difficult to think about....

It was a good day, and we ended the day with salsa lessons from Jean in the kitchen of the guest house.  There were six or seven of us crammed into the kitchen learning from Jean.  We had a blast!  We're hoping to go salsa dancing tonight in town.