After a long bout with stage 3 Pancreatitis, John McCombie, a noted artist and sculptor from Indiana, Pennsylvania recounted how horrible and painful it was to be so very thirsty and not being allowed to have any water to drink while he was in the hospital. "Being so thirsty" John, a Vietnam Veteran remarked "was the hardest thing that I ever had to endure!"
So began his mission to make water m
ore accessible to the people in a Haitian village who had to walk, sometimes 2 1/2 miles one way, to retrieve it for themselves and their families. On July 29, 2013, after a long period of planning, John and his friend Dan Mock, left their homes in Indiana, PA for a life changing experience in Northern Haiti. After 4 long days in Haiti, John's dream came true… a hand pump was installed on a 70' deep well. It wasn’t long before the children of the small village were playing in water from the well. Soon after a long line formed and buckets were appearing from everywhere! Many people reading this don’t give much thought to having fresh water accessible. John and Dan would eventually find that water in this little village would alter it in more ways than they would have ever imagined. When they first arrived, the village had a population of perhaps 100 people. John and Dan returned to the village one more day after the well was drilled and delivered a small truckload of rice and beans for the local people. Throughout the initial days in Haiti, John and Dan spoke often as to what else could be done to help the Haitian people. They had pretty much decided to continue, as time and money would allow, to drill additional wells in areas where the need was the greatest. During the time that they were drilling the initial well, they were becoming quite attached to the villagers, especially the children. The closeness that each of them were beginning to feel was becoming stronger by the day. Dan remarked to John..." when we leave today, we can't come back again because my heart won't take it." After the food had been delivered the end of the day drew near and the time came time to leave. Both John and Dan said their heartfelt goodbyes to the chief of the village, "Didas", and the friends that they had made. For once the language barrier didn't seem to be much of a problem. Everyone knew what was coming. John and Dan sat on the tailgate of the beat up old Toyota truck as it pulled out of the village. What happened next was life changing for both of them. The children of the village began chasing them down that very rocky road in their bare feet yelling, "Mesi Papa John...Mesi Papa Dan!" They were chased down that road for a quarter of a mile when finally their shouts to the children to turn back were heeded. Neither John nor Dan had to look at the other to know that it took nowhere close to a quarter of a mile for the tears to flow from both of their eyes. Although it wasn't spoken of for a while, both men knew that this wasn't the last trip that they would make to what became known to them as "Our Village". In December of 2014, a very sick John McCombie and his wife Barb, along with Dan Mock returned to Haiti and their village. There wasn't a water well to drill this time. They filled a truck with 1/2 of a ton of rice and beans for a surprise trip to visit Chief Didas and his people. They were welcomed with open arms and the village was filled with jubilation. Didas remarked that he and the villagers were afraid that they had seen Papa John and Papa Dan for the last time, so today was very special because of their return. What was amazing was that because of the new water well, the village population had increased three times to what it was previously. When it came time to leave John, Barb and Dan promised the people that they would return again soon. Little did anyone know but Papa John would never return again to the little village that he changed forever. On July 3, 2015, John David McCombie III succumbed to medical complications at his home in Indiana, PA. We know that John’s spirit is alive and well and watching over his family and friends as we continue the work of his foundation...."Raising Stars". More wells will be drilled, more food will be delivered and a school is in the planning stage as this is being written. There is still a lot of work to do and we hope you will consider helping with a donation to "Raising Stars"
Thank You for listening!
