No 96: Time to pack your Budgie Smugglers

No 96: Time to pack your Budgie Smugglers

According to UrbanDictionary.com, the phrase ‘Budgie Smuggler’ describes ‘any item of male bathing costume that encloses the wearers genitalia in a manner that resembles the concealment of a budgerigar’. Did someone actually stuff small animals down their pants to see which one looked most similar to tight trunks? One can’t help but wonder if they also considered ‘Hamster Hider’ or ‘Gerbil Rustler’ as alternatives. And don’t budgies have sharp beaks? I shudder at the thought.

Anyway, fascinating though that train of thought is, my story today is on something different.

Last February (see Note 80) I visited Haiti and participated in the 7.6km sea swim as part of Swim for Haiti. A number of you responded to Note 80 saying you would like to be involved next year. Now is your chance to step forward. The date is Jan 23^rd 2016. I will happily coordinate the flights/hotels etc. My suggestion is to make a long weekend of it and stop-over in NY for a day on the way out there.

Haiti is a beautiful Caribbean country which is trying to pull itself out of devastating poverty. Isle supports an amazing local business, called dlo Haiti. dlo provides water kiosks to the rural population. It is an incredible business that is reshaping how water can be supplied to the vast populations that are unserved by traditional underground water networks. You should visit Haiti just to see dlo as it is transforming how the water industry will evolve in the future. The swim is simply an added bonus.

I recently read a report on the impact of the dlo kiosks on the local communities. The conclusions ranged from the staggeringly serious and scary (advising that the opening hours were modified so that the kiosk staff didn’t travel home after dark when they would have to cross potentially dangerous gangland boundaries) to the gloriously customer-focussed (advising that they should plant palm trees in front of the kiosks so that customers could drink the water in the shade). This dichotomy highlights some of the challenges, and some of the beauty, of Haiti.

Earlier this month the latest (tenth!) kiosk was officially opened. The response from the local community was totally overwhelming. Their relief at finally having safe, healthy water was palpable. The local church leader, Pastor Hilaire, led an impromptu big-church style revival inside the kiosk. A flavour of the sermon is captured in the attached 50 second link. It is in Creole but you don’t need to understand Creole to get the gist. It is a true fire and brimstone sermon about the biblical importance of water and bread (they are opening a bakery next door using the energy and water generated by the kiosk). I love it. https://vimeo.com/124822069.

Btw, you don’t have to do the full 7.6km swim, you can also swim just 1km if you prefer. Or just come and be part of the fun. The swim is safe as you will be chaperoned by your own personal local fisherman. My 13 year old son did the long swim. For a video overview of the event http://www.dlohaiti.com/photos-and-videos.html or try www.swimforhaiti.org. Keep in mind that Haiti is hot in January. London is not. I still have sunburn marks from my visit in February. I won’t show you where.

Finally, speedos are not a requirement. And more females swam this year than males. Budgerigars are not provided.