The assumption:
A few years ago, the Church organized a special project to build a cement water cistern in La Vibora. Because the community is over three thousand feet above the valley floor and because there are no rivers or wells in La Vibora, the construction team assumed that the residents would care for this new source of water with persistent zeal. After all, who would want to spend time walking down the mountain to visit an overcrowded spring, waiting hours for one's turn in the midst of a never ending throng of people and animals... when the possibility of clean water in the community exited?
The Reality:
When a hurricane passed off the coast of Paraiso two months ago, the gathering pavilion with a zinc roof blew down. Since the roof had been the only structure connected to the water cistern, this meant that no new rainfall would enter the catchment, except that which might fall directly into hatch, if it were left open. In the picture you can observe a tiny hole that has been gouged into the bottom of the cistern floor. The plastic jug is used to gather the little bit of water that presently falls through the hatch.
Analysis:
In hindsight, it proves far easier to capture resources and build the cistern, than it is to coach a community into preserving the cistern, once it comes into service. Just why this is so varies from place to place. The United States funded thousands of water wells in the Dominican Republic during the United Nations decade of clean water: the 1980's. You can visit some of these wells and discover that the local community has maintained the well and knows how to repair it. But you can visit other sites and find that the wells are abandoned.
Leadership flight:
One reason for the discrepancy is change in leadership. Say a community has an outstanding leader who learns how to maintain a well or cistern. He motivates the group to keep the system functioning. When it breaks down, he is the first to sacrifice time and energy to go into town and get repair parts. His capability means that the energy of the rest of the group will be put to good use if he calls them to give up a working day to fix the system. But if that person becomes incapacitated or moves away from the community, a leadership vacuum comes into existence. The people who once depended upon him to solve problems and organize the work parties, now find that in his absence, the other members have little confidence in one another.
Dealing with the physical problem rather than the community dynamics:
For people who live in the town but attempt to intervene in rural areas, the temptation exists to solve the physical or material problems rather than address the community issues which create blockage to a local resolution. If left on its own, the system evolves into an addiction. People make their livelihood fixing wells or cisterns for other folks, because they would rather pay an exorbitant price than go through a process of community building to reduce inner tensions and create confidence to solve problems on their own.
The great unknown:
You can drive up to La Vibora and visit with the people. You can listen to stories and participate in their liturgies. You might even go around and interview each and every adult to try and ascertain just why they have not pooled resources to fix the pavilion... but in the end, the answer will remain illusive -- so long as you are not poor and do not live in the community. One of the most insightful songs after Vatican II has the following lyrics (translated from Spanish): "When the poor man believes in the poor man... that is when we can sing: liberty!" For as much as we would like to alleviate suffering and misery, in the end the long lasting results have little to do with us and everything to do with the poor learning how to believe in one another.
