The goals of this program were to:
--> Repair a number of hand pump wells
--> Expose the students to life in Haiti
--> Provide for interaction between
students and Haitiens
--> Provide an opportunity to train local
Haitiens in hand pump repair
--> Provide an opportunity for these
students to live their faith

The group consisted of myself (Steve Silliman, Civil Engineering and Geological Sciences at Notre Dame), Kathy Fitzgerald (a volunteer from Lifewater International (a Christian organization which focuses on providing clean water in developing countries), Fr. John Herman (csc) and 7 students (shown at left).

The trip was supported through housing and vehicles provided by OMS, a missionary group with a significant compound in Cap Haitien. We are deeply endebted to this group for housing and logistical support.

The trip was a great success with students making close contact with both the missionaries at OMS and the Haitien people in a number of small towns and villages. The hand pump repair provided the students with a number of opportunities to work with and around the Haitien people.


Further, prayers said by the group both before and after each attempted repair provided an opportunity for our faith to be witnessed among the Haitien people.

Finally, nightly mass offered by Fr. John, combined with time for journaling and reflection among the group, provided a time for growth for each of us which is rarely experienced in everyday classes and masses in our comfortable churches in the U.S.