The constitution is made of paper but bayonets are made of steel.
The meeting with the Cange community went about as well as I expected. I knew people would be unhappy and I knew they would yell at me but I was actually surprised about what they were yelling. They understood why they needed to take responsibility for the system, although I'm not quite sure they understand that this will involve paying for water. What made them angriest was actually that they may need to work with DINEPA (the Haitian Water and Sanitation Department) to make this happen.
To be honest, I don't know why DINEPA has such a horrible reputation here but the citizens of Cange absolutely despise them. It was shocking. They told me that DINEPA would fe desod (make a mess) if they came to Cange and took over for CEDC.
Unfortunately, their arguments escalated to the point where they questioned why some young engineer was telling them this news about the water system and not Dr. Paul. To this I replied that "I'm not Paul Farmer but I'm all you got right now." Regardless, I am waiting until some more important individuals arrive later this month before continuing. Unfortunately, I may not be here for the establishment of the Cange Water Committee but, as it turns out, this may not be a bad thing...
On the bright side, the water system we are building this week is going quite well. Wifi and power have still been abysmal but I will try to upload pictures whenever we finish it.
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