Initially inspired by curiosity, I started keeping track of inquiries I receive regarding water supply in Haiti. 320 such inquiries crossed my desk in 2015, from government employees, individuals, companies, politicians, multi-laterals, NGOs, missionaries, and even a celebrity – all seeking knowledge, information, and advice.

Adding context, this equates to 1.2 inquiries per business day; each drawing 20-30 minutes of my time on average. So I effectively allocated 160+ hours, 4 weeks, or nearly 8% of 2016 work hours, to this cause. Only a handful of these inquiries led to compensation or work for my small organization. The quantity of inquiries continues to increase and has steadily done so since I started working in Haiti ten years ago. My curiosity brought clear focus to a real demand on my time, it really does add up.

So why do I get all of these inquiries in the first place? How do I handle them moving forward?

I think there are a few primary reasons why I find myself in this unique situation.

1. Water is core to doing anything anywhere. If you need it in Haiti, you are on your own as there is essentially no reliable water service anywhere in the country. This is just great, especially considering that Haiti is one of the more expensive and challenging places to develop groundwater resources. There is NO public or institutional capacity for support or advice, this significantly contributes to the inquiries I receive.
2. I have developed as a known water expert in Haiti.
3. I am self employed and in charge of my time.
4. I am passionate and love what I do. I am eager to learn of new problems and look for solutions.
5. I am philanthropic and Haiti is close to my heart and a big part of my life.  My good friend Neil Van Dine once told me, if we try to help as many initiatives as possible with our expertise, eventually one or two of them may lead to success and positive benefits for the country.

If you are from Haiti or ever tried to accomplish something there, you know that nothing comes easy, this is especially the case with our work.  Even the simplest and most trivial inquiries about water in Haiti require real professional time, experience, and effort to adequately respond and advise. Elsewhere in the world we can draw from scores of studies, data and knowledge to field these inquiries. We have capable government agencies, universities, and institutions specifically devoted to water resources, complete with career experts to support the public.  Such public services are not available to support Haiti, it is a gap that is of great need, as half of the population lacks basic access to water supply.  I am humbled and honoured to help fill this role, and I take it seriously.  However, my approach to fielding the barrage of inquiries needs modification to be sustainable.

My organization and team are central to my long-term goals of helping Haiti.  Without the business and the team, these long term goals would not be possible.  I would not be available to help anyone or respond to any inquiries. Synergizing business and philanthropy in practice is not always easy.  I have learned the importance of respecting basic business principles, and structuring philanthropy into our vision and core values.  Ultimately, you cannot have a philanthropic business if you do not have a business.  Moving forward, we may not be supporting each inquiry as we have in the past, but we certainly will support the ones that are as serious as we are about solving a problem.