$18,350 Grant Awarded to Hands Up For Haiti for electric system installation at Haiti Village Health Clinic.
This fall Hands Up For Haiti reached out to us and asked if we could continue our support towards the progress of the Haiti Village Health clinic. Haiti Village Health (HVH) is a volunteer based, non-profit, non-governmental registered charity providing sustainable primary health care and training to the people of the under-serviced rural region of Bas Limbe in northern Haiti. The HVH clinic offers medical care and public health initiatives to more than 25,000 people in five rural villages. This clinic is vital to the community as the nearest hospital is one hour away.
Electricity in the compound was minimal. Initially a generator was used; three years ago, HVH hired a local contractor to install a solar electric system on the guesthouse. That system faltered due to poor materials and incorrect installation.
Electricity for the clinic was dependent on the capability and reliability of the guesthouse system; an extension cord was run from the weak solar system to the clinic. The clinic had minimal light and power, hampering night deliveries and posing storage hazards to medications and equipment.
The guesthouse needed electricity as that is where the resident employees live and where the visiting teams stay and prepare for their work, oftentimes holding evening sessions with the Haitian medical community and community workshops.
Most homes are without electricity. The rooms are dark by late afternoon; children have no light to study. The community needs access to charging stations to charge phones, lights, and other small electrical appliances. With an adequate solar system installed at HVH, there will be sufficient excess power for community use.
This grant has allowed for Hands Up For Haiti to renovate the existing solar electric system at the Haiti Village Health guesthouse and install a system in the clinic, all to provide sufficient power to run the clinic safely, provide necessary electricity to the guesthouse, and provide access to electricity to surrounding communities.
As of mid October, 2015, the solar electric system has been installed and is functioning properly. One local resident that helped in the installation was also trained during and after the installation, and he and others will be given additional training so that he can handle daily maintenance and repair issues. He will also run the community charging program. Community members will deliver their devices to him; he will charge them and return them to their owners fully charged.
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