Anyone who has attempted a major building project in Haiti knows only too well the frustration caused by bureaucratic delays, cost overruns, and environmental challenges. What the heart sees as easy possibility, the contractor experiences as an ever-lengthening rocky road to the land of “Not Quite Yet.” Successful and timely completion of building projects often hinge on the correct use of the right equipment. Hôpital Sacré Coeur gained significant forward motion in its construction timeline with this summer’s addition of a Daihatsu Delta Tipper truck, thus preserving the precious dollars entrusted to us by our donors.
This much welcomed donation occurred thanks to the generosity of Washington State philanthropist, Mark Pigott. Mark answered our appeal for the truck and shared, “Sacré Coeur is performing a wonderful humanitarian service to those in need. The addition of a truck will enable the hospital to improve their physical structure as well as deliver medical care to even more of the local community.”
The sturdy Daihatsu Delta Tipper provides excellent performance in transporting steel, sand, gravel, concrete and soil. Materials easily load and unload from right, left and rear sides and an automatic lowering system ensures that the contents tip out at a safe speed from a stable rig. Intuitive design greatly facilitated the training of the hospital’s General Services department crew. Positive results occurred immediately. As Construction Manager, Tim Traynor explains:
“We have had the truck only a few days and it has already made a big difference in the timing and cost of the work we have to perform. Besides saving the high costs of transporting raw materials back to Milot, we have been able to pick things up the day they are needed rather than waiting in a queue for our turn to use the rented truck. This is a very big deal for the guys in GS. It is breaking a cultural paradigm that has discouraged the timely completion of tasks.”
Daihatsu’s leadership in building vehicles that minimize negative environmental impact fit well with the hospital’s green awareness. As Traynor explains:
“The new vehicle yields the ability to carry the maximum cargo load for the least amount of fuel consumed. Most vehicles in Haiti are from the 1980’s vintage or earlier which are absent modern fuel economies and other air quality advancements. Besides the trucks for hire being dangerous to drive, a headlight is a luxury and brakes only an afterthought, the only alternative mode of heavy hauling often involves many men carrying loads normally relegated to beasts of burden which are a scarce commodity in the region.”
Once again, heartfelt generosity from the caring CRUDEM community yielded high-impact, educational and environmentally responsible results.
