Some of you may know our Power Team (consisting of Chris, Mike, Mark, Jeremy, Mitch and others) had planned to go to Haiti to boost our system in Bainet. Chris and Mike had worked up a plan to go and replace the system we had in Bainet because it wasn’t producing enough for our freezers and refrigerators, etc. The local utilities company hasn’t been able to provide us with any electricity.
Because of the safety concerns in Haiti, we cancelled a trip that was planned for November 2022. Another one that was planned for April 2023 was also cancelled. Meanwhile, the guys ordered and sent a 4KW system (kit with all accessories) and additional items such as fans and some tools down to Haiti. All of these items were in Bainet, waiting.
You know our ocean there is extremely salty. Salt gets everywhere and before you know it our fans and other appliances degrade and our system can also degrade. We wanted to take action and it took us about 3 months to find someone to install the system for us. We were able to connect with an Electrical Engineer in Port au Prince who eventually made his way to Bainet.
How did he make it to Bainet? It was no easy trip! He was coming from Port au Prince, which is normally just a 4 hour drive to Bainet, if there is no heavy traffic. But because of safety concerns, he could not “just drive” to Bainet. He had to ship his tools that bypassed the dangerous road. He had to fly to Les Cayes and then drive the remainder of the route. All modes of transportation were used for him to get to Bainet!
Over a 4-day period he and his team replaced the system in Bainet and installed the new system that we sent down there. He also was taken to Zorange to install the system that we had removed from Bainet, on top of the school in Zorange to beef up energy to the church.
So today – our dorm/hotel/restaurant in Bainet is fully powered.
Our Clinic in Gandou is fully powered.
Our Clinic in Zorange is fully powered.
Our church in Zorange is fully powered.
Our School in Zorange is fully powered.
Our dorm in Zorange is also fully powered.
That’s 6 microgrids we have in Bainet, Zorange, and Gandou ladies and gentlemen!
We are not stopping our work! We will continue to be relentless in our collaboration with the team in Haiti. We know for certain that we will get back there but we don’t know when. Meantime our work continues. For that we thank all of you for your selflessness and steadfast support and amazing partnership for 25 years now!
