Literal translation for this proverb would be: “What is for you, floods cannot take it away.”

Haiti has only two seasons: when it rains and when it does not rain. In rainy seasons, the water is so abundant that the rivers tend to leave their space/course and flood approximate habitats. Also lots of water is coming from the mountains and taking away everything that is in its path: animals, houses, trees, and more. This kind of flood is called: ‘lavalas’ in Haitian Creole. And no one is willing to deal with a ‘lavalas’.

After the flood, people are doing inventory of their losses. Also, some valuable things might end up in an area they did not belong to before. In some areas, you might find dead animals in the yard or even living fish in the remaining water in the surroundings too. And fortunately, the flood can also ignore things it could have taken away during its course. Some things do remain.

This proverb teaches that when something is for you, no matter how bad a flood or any situation would be, it will remain yours. Haitian people even say and believe that if any flood took something that is yours, it will put it back to your door. This proverb also teaches hard work to achieve a certain goal, and once it’s yours, nothing can take it away from you. If it goes, let it go, because it was not yours; otherwise, it will come back to you with no effort.

Sometimes, we work hard to achieve something but can’t. It just goes away. And out of nothing, it comes to us with no additional effort. In this situation, we could say: “Sa ki pou ou, lavalas pa ka pote l ale.”