Haiti

SELF's Response to the Haiti Disaster

In response to the devastating earthquake in Port-au-Prince, SELF has partnered with NRG Energy, Clinton Bush Haiti Fund, 11th Hour Project, Partners In Health (PIH) and more to accelerate the solar electrification of hospitals, clinics, schools, irrigation systems, fish farms, street lights and other community services. We have already provided solar electricity to the clinics in Boucan Carré, Hinche and Cerca la Source and are working to speed the process of solar electrifying all 10 PIH sites in Haiti.

Solar has helped fill a short-term need in terms of providing power for PIH's relief efforts. Over the long-term, solar energy can serve as a foundation for a robust and sustainable energy infrastructure in Haiti, as well as a path to economic recovery.

To help us, please make a donation and select Rebuild Haiti from the Program Area option menu.

Background

SELF and PIH have been working together since 2006 to bring solar power to PIH operations around the world. In 2009 SELF continued to expand its partnership with Dr. Paul Farmer and PIH by bringing solar power to a remote health center in the mountainous central highlands of Haiti. The 10 kW solar installation at the Boucan Carré for Zanmi Lasante (ZL), PIH's sister organization on the ground in Haiti.

Not only did this system secure critical loads and improve health care at the clinic, but is also significantly reduced PIH's need to run a diesel generator for power. PIH's monthly fuel consumption at Boucan Carré dropped from 11 barrels per month to just four – a 64% reduction.

Because of this success, SELF and PIH decided after the earthquake struck to accelerate and increase the size of planned SELF installations. In 2010 SELF installed systems at two additional clinics – a 5 kW system at Hinche and a 10 kW system at Cerca la Source.

Currently most of the PIH clinics in Haiti are powered by diesel generators, a costly and polluting source of energy. Diesel fuel must be trucked in via Haiti’s treacherous mountain roads.

Pregnant women are particularly endangered and death in childbirth occurs at a greater rate here than any other country in the west. In 2004, for every 100,000 births, 523 mothers died, as compared with 8 in Europe.

Rebuilding Haiti: SELF powers healthcare

This past February SELF completed three more solar installations – hospitals at Thomonde and La Colline, and a women’s health clinic in Lascahobas. These installations now boast a combined capacity of 75 kW of solar power!

The basic installation team consisted of two SELF staff and technical volunteers from Outback Power and Standard Solar. Also, consistent with SELF’s Solar Integrated Development (SID) model, SELF hired six local technicians and engineers to complete the team. While SELF staff will continue to monitor the systems, these men and women will maintain them on a day-to-day basis to ensure they are functioning properly.

The two hospitals, Thomonde and La Colline, now have the two largest solar electric systems SELF has installed to date. Each system consists of 29 kW of solar power and pending some efficiency upgrades, will ultimately carry the entire electric load of the sites. This is extremely exciting as PIH will have clean, reliable power to treat their patients, and dramatically cut the need for diesel fuel.

As part of PIH’s 3-year plan to build Haiti back better, a major factor is proper medical care for women. With the highest maternal mortality in the western hemisphere, the women of Haiti are in desperate need of an elevated level of care. The newly renovated Lascahobas women’s clinic will provide just that; family planning, pre- and post-natal care, assisted deliveries and caesarean sections, vaccination of women and children, and screening and treatment of HIV are all part of this facilities provisions.

With the installation of three more clinics complete, SELF still has two to go in our partnership with PIH. Plans are underway for the final installations at the remaiing two facilities in Petit Riviere and Verettes. The former, at 34 kW will be SELF’s largest installation yet (Verettes will be 21 kW).

To learn more about our Solar Health Care Partnership with PIH, watch this video.

Beyond health care: Building a new solar electric infrastructure

Haiti today is harrowing and painful to see, as many people do not have adequate shelter even months after the earthquake. While urgent and ongoing relief is being provided it is often not enough. But thanks to a new partnership with the Inter-American Development Bank, SELF will be installing solar street lighting in some of the transition camps to help increase security and reduce the rate of rapes and other violence.

Another significant opportunity for Haiti's solar future was created this fall when NRG Energy announced its partnership with SELF to fulfill its $1 million commitment to the Clinton Global Initiative to bring renewable energy to Haiti. Working in Boucan Carré, SELF will solar electrify a fish farm, 11 schools, several drip irrigation systems and other community services.

CBHF has stepped up with a matching grant to help SELF build on our partnership with NRG and add more solar installations to the community. One potential project is the electrification of Zanmi Agrikol’s Nourimanba processing plant. This facility produces ready-to-use therapeutic food (RUTF) from locally grown peanuts. Haiti’s Central Plateau has the highest rate of malnutrition in the country, but ZL has found it can successfully treat children in just 6-8 weeks with the nutrient-rich Nourimanba.

These new installations have yet to begin, but we are pleased to be planning these significant contributions to rebuilding Haiti.

Solar street lights: Lighting and security in Haitian tent camps

Though it has been almost two years since the January 2010 earthquake that devastated Haiti, there are still thousands of people living in tent camps. While these camps are suppposed to be temporary, for the last 22 months, this is where thousands of people call home. To make matters worse, these camps lack electricity, most importantly, light.

SELF worked with the Government of Haiti, and Green Energy Solutions, a Port-au-Prince company to install 68 solar powered lamp posts in the tent camp of Carradeux, managed by Operasyon Men Nan Men and 32 lamp posts in Pétionville Club, managed by J/P Haitian Relief Ogranization. The project was made possible by funding from the Inter-American Development Fund. in funded through a grant from the Inter-American Development Bank, SELF procured 100 street lamps from the Port-au-Prince company, Green Energy Solutions.

Adhering to our principals of our Solar Integrated Development Model while acting as project manager, we worked with the camps’ management organizations and local residents to decide on the location of the lights and to recruit local residents to assist with their installation.

While these camps are only temporary, the solar street lights have made a permanent impact on the lives of the residents. Before the street lights were installed the crime rate was high and included a high rate of sexual assaults. Now, reports of violence have drastically diminished dramatically as the lights are helping to increase the levels of peace and security around the clock.  

The Sun Lights the Way: Brightening Boucan Carré

In 2010, NRG Energy, Inc. announced a partnership with SELF to fulfill its commitment to the Clinton Global Initiative to implement solar systems in Haiti to help revitalize the country, beginning with the commune of Boucan Carré located in the country’s central plateau region. Recently, President Bill Clinton and David Crane, CEO of NRG, toured the completed facilities of the Lashto Fish Farm and the Bon Berger du Domond School.

We’re excited to report that the installations at the first school and fish farm have been completed, and were toured last week by President Bill Clinton, Bob Freling, our executive director, and David Crane, CEO of NRG.

At the Bon Berger du Domond School, we installed 12 solar panels to power lights for adult literacy classes and computers to facilitate Internet-based learning programs. The school doubles as a community center at night, so the entire community now has access to the resources it offers.

The Lashto Fish Farm is not only helping to deliver fresh fish to the people of the region, it is also providing local jobs and economic development. We installed 63 panels that provide 24/7 power to aerate the three fish tanks that can hold up to 20,000 tilapia fish. Individual fishermen invest in and own about 2,000 tilapia, and Caribbean Harvest, the site’s operator, estimates that each fisherman can sell his or her portion for about $2.40/per pound, making a profit of about $1 per fish. About 90,000 fish can be produced annually.

We’re working hard to implement the remaining systems by the end of August.

Future Needs

SELF’s solar installations will meet the needs of several communities in Haiti. But there is much more work to be done to provide the infrastructure and renewable energy supply the Haitian people need to rebuild their devastated country. Please help us continue to bring light and hope to the people of Haiti.

For additional project details contact info@self.org.