Rural Electrification Goals for Haiti: 1,920 Homes by Summers End

Work on the IEEE/Sirona Haiti Rural Electricity Project continues, all day every day, regardless of the fact that the blog falls behind at times.  In Haiti, our six operating SunBlazers deliver energy to 240 homes a day.  Every month our field technicians visit each station to ensure that everything is operating perfectly.  Haiti's environment is a challenging one, and so far the units deployed in June have withstood the Caribbean climate and everything is working well.  Our customers are satisfied with their home energy kits and only a few kits have needed repair since deployment.  Repairs are most frequently fixing loose connections resulting from a unit being dropped.  In a few cases the kits have required resetting because the battery was drained to the point of engaging the low voltage disconnect.  Our kits are designed for longevity, and the repairs have been handled by our field technicians without problem.  This type of warranty is very rare in Haiti.  When asked by new Operators how long the station will last, we are always happy to say, "As long as you pay your lease".  Operator and customer satisfaction are critical to us, and the lease payments allow us to provide full service technicians and replacement of parts as needed.

We are preparing to import nine new units into Haiti this spring which were donated by the IEEE and the CSI volunteers.  We will build an additional nine units in Haiti this summer with a grant from USAID.  USAID/OTI has many projects in the St. Marc area and we will be deploying nine of our units there as soon as the grant process is complete.  With the addition of these 18 units Sirona will have 24 units operating servicing 1,920 homes.  This grant with USAID is almost complete, however Sirona must complete it's registration process in Haiti.  We are busy with completion of that process now.

NGO registration has historically been a process that takes many years.  Rather than engage in the expense of registration Sirona has partnered with registered entities and worked without issue for the past three years.  Now, however, our projects have grown in magnitude and it is time to complete the official processes of full Haitian registration.  The current government has been working to speed the registration processes up, and we are optimistic that we will be registered in the coming weeks.

Last week Sirona received strong support from the Secretary of Energy, Dr. Rene Jean Jumeau, in the form of a Letter of Intent.  This letter allows us to operate legally for a year while we complete the formal registration requirements.  The support from the Haitian government has been steady and we are very grateful for all of the efforts that have been made to help Sirona provide energy to rural Haitians.  It is clear that President Martelly's administration is very focused upon energy as one of its top goals. Dr. Jumeau works to coordinate all of the actors in the energy sector to increase the impact that each organization might have on its own.  The admininstration's goal?  200,000 homes in two years.  Sirona is excited to be assisting with this goal.

The blog lapses from time to time simply because we are so busy with all of the projects that are in process.  Soon I hope to be reporting the more exciting news of deployment and the impact that having basic, sustainable energy gives to people who live far from the grid in Haiti.

Earth Day: Sirona Offers Affordable Biofuel to Help Local Economy

Happy Earth Day.  Most followers of this blog know of our work in Haiti focused on building sustainable communities, but may know little about what we do for our community in the San Francisco Bay Area. Sirona Cares is the sister to Sirona Fuels, a for-profit biofuel company.  My husband Paul and I created both because we are convinced that alternative energy is the key to change, both environmental and economic.

Both organizations share the same vision and together we accomplish more than a for-profit or non-profit could not do on it's own.  In Haiti we are putting biofuel into rural communities and deploying the IEEE/Sirona Haiti Rural Electricity Project to light homes and start businesses.  Here we are supporting businesses/individuals who use diesel fuel and public schools.  Starting today Sirona Fuels is selling biofuel from the refinery in Oakland directly to customers at $.25/gallon less than the price at the pump.  Current fuel prices are crippling, and this is a way we can respond to support our community.  The quality of Sirona's fuel is so high that it is a drop-in replacement for diesel fuel and requires no modification to the vehicle.  For every gallon of biofuel used, 20 lbs of carbon is offset.  The Sirona Fuels company donates a percentage of it's profits to the Sirona Cares Foundation allowing us to focus donor support on our programs.

I am thrilled to announce that our Sirona Cares for Schools Program is now being supported by Whole Foods, Cisco and Oracle, in addition to many local restaurants.  This bio-recycling program allows restaurants to donate their waste kitchen oil to Sirona for refining, and then 20% of the sale price of the biodiesel is given to public schools through grants.  In addition to providing a free service, we offer tax donation receipts to participating restaurants.

Today and every day we are committed to finding ways to support our communities here and in Haiti.  From the Sirona Team, have a happy Earth Day.

Hardest Question to Answer: How IS Haiti?

I get this question all the time.  How are things going down there?  Are they getting better?  The question is a stumbling block with a very long and complicated answer that the one who asked is usually not interested in.  If you're asking about rubble, yes, it's better in some places.  The earthquake occurred 15 months ago, and since then, for the most part by hand, the rubble on the main roads of Port au Prince has been cleared.  While it is better, only a fraction of debris has been removed.  A trip down any side street quickly takes you back in time 15 months.  I see the new paint and plaster on buildings and wonder if they have really been repaired, or if they just look better.

Cholera has "settled" in Haiti, like malaria did years ago.  The number of cholera cases is still quite high, but the number of deaths associated with the desease is dropping as the population learns about it, and how to protect themselves.  What Haiti really needs is infrastructure, to stop cholera.  There is virtually no large scale water treatment for the population, and as long as people wash and drink from the rivers there will be disease.

I have seen some improvements in infrastructure.  A number of roads that have been repaired, and big projects to keep water contained in riverbeds have been undertaken.  There are even some new electricity lines.  Little by little (piti piti) there are changes, and it is not my intention to criticize these efforts, only to point out that there is a long way to go.

Some things are better, I guess, but the best answer is that no, because life in Haiti is as hard, and in many cases harder than it was before the earthquake.  Unemployment is still posted at around 80%, over 1,000,000 people remain displaced in a population of 9,000,000.  The conditions in the camps are desperate and the rainy season is here again.  It's too difficult for many parents to get their children an education.  Only one in seven people in Haiti have any access to intermittent electricity.  Deforestaton has ravaged the mountains and many watersheds are destroyed.  There are just so many things that need to change to make Haiti better.

So, with all of that said, is it hopeless?  NO.  No it is not hopeless, Haitians are ready to work, ready to live a better life and very willing to put in the effort to improve things in their country.  If there were any opportunities for work and education many Haitians would be happy to move out of Port au Prince to repopulate the countryside.  People want jobs, and they want sustainable development.  In our projects we act as a partner bringing opportunity to improve communities in sustainable ways, and our work is eagerly embraced.  The more that is done in Haiti with sustainable models, the better.  The more that is done in Haiti with Haitian input, the better.  Charity has had a crippling effect on the country, and we are proving that what people need is simply the opportunity to create a better life.  It is my ferverent wish that the money for Haiti's reconstruction begin to be deployed, and the focused on empowerment of people there to build a new country.  It is not hopeless, but it's going to take a while but someday I want to say that things are really better in Haiti.

Haiti's Earthquake: Looking Back & Forward

I have not written since the anniversary of the earthquake.  I have many mixed feelings and feared that I would not articulate any of them in a meaningful way.  Nobody can imagine really what it was like for Haiti to lose hundreds of thousands of people in moments.  The damage was beyond comprehension.  The lack of a plan to move forward has crippled the country and with no strong government, no plan, no focus and no funding or solid international support Haiti is still paralyzed.

A year ago I was literally drowning in the goodwill of the Bay Area in response to the earthquake.  I kept busy sorting and packing goods for survivors with volunteers to keep my mind off of all of the people I could not reach.  I held a ticket for Haiti dated only days after the earthquake and it took me two more weeks to get into the country through the Dominican Republic.  Donated planes flew us from one town to another allowing us to see many of our partners.  Haiti a year ago was full of American military.  When I arrived the streets were clogged with rubble, dust burned our eyes and throats, people slept in the roadways of Port au Prince, and NGO vehicles were everywhere.  Signs were posted with pleas for food, water and medicine.  The streets of Port au Prince were peaceful and eerily quiet, I have never experienced that level of calm in the city, before or since my Februrary visit.

Only some things have changed in a year.  The signs are gone, as is much of the assistance.  Haitians walk and live amongst the rubble of the earthquake.  They lack every form of service we take for granted, namely access to clean water and electricity.  A cholera epidemic has ravaged the country since October and turmoil from an unresolved presidential election looms ever present.  The extremity of the poverty and the complexity of the issues in Haiti were hard to articulate yesterday, and today the ousted dictator, Duvalier (Baby Doc) has returned to Haiti. 

I do not comment politics in Haiti.  I spend all of my energy and building sustainable communities in the rural areas of Haiti.  I work directly with community leaders designing programs with them that will benefit their people.  We focus upon addressing energy poverty, and are bringing real solutions to village people.  With over 1,000 farmers enrolled in our jatropha program we will soon see positive economic development in the countryside based on locally produced biofuel.  When we deploy six electricity stations next month we will create six businesses and bringing light to 240 homes. 

Our organization is successful because we listen to our Haitian partners and design with them programs that will work for them.  It pains me to look at how little over-all progress has been made in Haiti over the past year.  The urgent message that must come out of Haiti is that it is not hopeless; that people do want and will work for sustainable development.  They prefer this option to charity.  The population is young (a median age of 20) and they embrace change.  In their memory there are no "good old days" and they desperately want to create a future.  I would urge people who believe in the power of the human spirit to keep your eyes on our work in Haiti to be reassured that positive change is possible, and is taking place, regardless of the media's portrayal of this broken country.

 

Updates (Good News) from Haiti

Our mission is to build sustainable communities by putting the ability to make, use and sell alternative fuels into the hands of the poorest people.  The goal is to sell jatropha oil in Haiti and offset the need for imported fossil fuel.  The profits from our projects will be reinvested in Haiti, in the communities where we work.  Our jatropha project will take time, but will ultimately have a lasting positive impact.

Time is critical for the children in Haiti who are sick.  While there is no news I can report on the ten orphans hospitalized in Jeremie with cholera, I can report some positive news from our last trip.  I took photos of three children a couple of weeks ago that I had never expected to see again. 

The first two, baby Clara and Alfonso, live in an orphanage in Jeremie.  They were both very sick the last time I saw them, and sadly their orphanage had lost a child for unknown reasons just days before the first two photographs were taken.  Both Clara and Alfonso were frail and obviously very ill, and it was heartbreaking to see them in that condition.

  

The good news:  See Alfonso and Clara today (large photo).  If I didn't know them, I couldn't have recognized them.  This orphanage was a recipient of goods shipped after the earthquake and the orphanage director was so excited to see us that she ran to us to say thank you.  She was very grateful to the people here that helped them and said that she finally had what she needed to clothe and clean the children properly.

In addition, I would like to show you a mother/son photograph:

I took this picture in August at Mission of Hope in Grand Goave.  This little boy, 18 month-old Christlove, had testicles larger than my fists and could not eat anything.  When I took the picture his mother was telling me that she was terribly worried because he could not even keep down rice.  Her face shows her concern, and his is the face of a very sick child.  Again, below, more good news.  See Christolove as he was in November.  He had the necessary surgery and is now running, playing, and obviously eating well again.  There is so many sad stories from Haiti, so much bad news, I wanted to show that sometimes there's good news from the field as well. 

 

 

Faces of Cholera in Haiti, Children we Know

Ten days ago we were at a Jeremie orphanage that we selected as a pilot site for the IEEE rural electricity project.  We were joyful discussing the business plan with Pastor Honore for a unit which will in short time supply the first electricity the orphanage has had in eight years, the income needed to lease the equipment, and sustainable income to feed the fifty orphans in his care.  Pastor Honore has operated his orphange since the 1980s, and has relied upon the charity of others to do so.  There are no sustainable solutions for feeding or educating these children, so this is an opportunity for which they are incredibly thankful.  In the course of meeting we photographed the children who had sang for us upon arrival for a church here that is potentially interested in helping them. I am relaying terrible news that I received from Pastor Honore today.  We have been working with this orphanage for nearly two years, providing assistance to the children as we could, and this e-mail has shaken me to my very core:

Thank you so much my presidente, but I'm very sad to tell you, now, we have at least 10 children at the hospitol JEREMIE, every nigth I don't sleeping.  All of them have the colera. Certainly my wife and we don't know what we  can do, only we would like to ask you and help us in your prayers.

Michel Ronaldo, CHERLANDE, Junior, Machelene, Nancy, Manoucheca etc, all of them are sick. God BLESS YOU.

Thank's, greeting to PAUL  Jeannine and your group

Most of the children he mentioned are pictured.  I do not have photos of all of the children, some had been washing clothes and were not there when I took the pictures.  He was to send me photos soon of them, and now each of these children are desperately ill, and all 50 children in his care have been exposed to cholera.  My heart is breaking right now knowing that I have two other orphanages in the same town that I work with, and those directors will not be able to communicate with me like Pastor Honore can.  If his kids are sick, thiers most certainly are or will be as well.  Please keep Haiti in your prayers. 

 

 

 

 

To support our endeavor to stop the march of cholera, please mark a donation of any size for "nail clippers".  All funds will be used to ship 50,000 sets of nail clippers to the Haitian Health Foundation in Jeremie to help people defend themselves from the disease.  The clippers are here, but we must pay for them before we can get them to Haiti.  Each set of clippers will save many lives, it's really (sadly) just that simple.  This program is being sponsored by Sirona Cares and Global Arts and Education to empower the Haitian Health Foundation.

 

Low Point of Haiti Trip: Cholera Epidemic

Last Monday we were in Port au Prince completing a very successful trip preparing to deploy IEEE's rural electricity project.  The trip was successful in that we were able to get to the locations we needed to, meet with the people we had hoped to, and leave just before the elections took place.  We traveled with higher anxiety about election demonstrations than concern regarding the cholera epidemic.  We knew that we would always have access to safe bottled water, and the education to deal with cholera if, by some bad turn, we did catch it.

By traveling to Haiti every other month for two years we have learned enough to feel confident that our sustainable development programs will work.  I write about the positive, the hope, but there are very sad realities about Haiti that I generally leave to others to report.  After so many trips I have stopped feeling the shock of exposure to the poverty there, and I have stopped talking about it.  I see the people, not their surroundings.  This trip, however, drove home the reality of how dangerous it is to live at this level of poverty. 

Due to Haiti's complete lack of infrastructure (the lack of waste treatment, clean water and education) a cholera epidemic is taking a huge toll nationwide.  The outbreak began about six weeks ago and an hour ago the official death toll was reported at 1,721 (an unofficial count would be higher).  75,888 people have been infected and 33,485 have been hospitalized since the last week of October.  There is no sign of the disease slowing and some fear that it will claim more lives than the earthquake (250,000).  There is confusion in Haiti about cholera, where it comes from, how to treat it, and confusion is dangerous.  The ill are often left by the side of the road by drivers scared to transport them.  Riots occur where caregivers attempt to set up cholera treatment centers.  Ignorance is adding to the death toll.  Cholera is a simple disease to avoid and treat, if you have the means and education to do so.

Spread by fecal-contaminated water, cholera can be avoided by drinking purified water, and by not eating anything that was washed in dirty water.  This is easy for a traveler like myself, but very difficult for the Haitian who has no access to clean water, or who lives by eating food from vendors along the road.  The World Health Organization (WHO) is not recommending restrictions to international travel or trade with Haiti in part because travelers have access to bottled water and education that will prevent contraction of the disease.  If a cholera-infected person leaves Haiti, they will enter a country where the disease would not spread because that countries infrastructure would prevent it.  Cholera is not contagious, soap and water keeps people exposed to cholera patients from catching the disease.

Oral rehydration cures more than 80% of cholera cases if you stabilize your electrolytes by rehydrating with fluid containing sugar and salt.  Education is critical, and sadly coming in the wake of the disease.  As is often the case, one problem in Haiti is exacerbating another.  As reported by the WHO: "Civil unrest since 15 November has slowed down several activities, including delivery of supplies for prevention and treatment of patients... Trainings on cholera treatment and initiatives to chlorinate water for 300 000 people had to be postponed."

We arrived in Jeremie last Saturday, the day after the initial cholera cases began there.  We left on Sunday and of ten cases reported two had resulted in death already.  I've reached out to our partner, the Haitian Health Foundation (HHF), in Jeremie to get an update, but the director has not replied.  Sadly, I know that this is because she is too busy with new cholera cases to check her e-mail today.  The HHF is requesting bodybags, soap, salt, and pleading for the 50,000 nail clippers that Sirona Cares and Global Arts and Education are prepared to send once funds for the clippers are collected.  The clippers are here in San Francisco, and funding is needed to allow us to take them to Jeremie and save an estimated 250,000 lives.

 

Electricity Project to Launch in Rural Haiti

Along the main highways in Haiti there is sporadic electricity, but once you leave main roads there is almost none.  Sirona Cares in partnership with the IEEE (the Institute of Electric and Electronic Engineers) is bringing electricity to rural Haiti.  This exciting project was the impetus for last weeks trip.

The CSI (Community Solutions Initiative) Team comprised of IEEE members has been working diligently towards a electricity solution for developing countries, a project needed desperately in rural Haiti.  Thanks to the imagination, skill and hard work of the CSI team and the generosity of the IEEE, the dream of access to electricity will soon become a reality.  Sirona Cares has worked with the CSI team to form a sustainable business model for the deployment of equipment based upon sustainability rather than charity.  During our trip we worked out the logistics required to deploy the pilot units in January.

Each unit is a trailer with a self-contained system including 40 small batteries, four large batteries, and six solar panels which will create 6 kilowatt hours of electricity per day.  The concept is simple, for each unit, 40 electricity "customers" will pay a deposit to receive a kit containing a battery, three DC lights (so no inverter is needed) and a cell phone charging adaptor.  The customers will pay a monthly fee which was calculated by determining the cost rural Haitians pay for kerosene, candles, cell phone charging and other substitutes for having electricity in their homes.  The fee that each customer pays will allow them to recharge their batteries as often as they need to each month.  Customers can offset their monthly expense by charging their neighbors cell phones.

In addition to recharging customer batteries, the unit manager will also have four large batteries with which he can create a business.  The object of our trip was to complete the business plans of the individuals selected as pilot unit managers.  The goal of this project is to create a situation in which a Haitian entrepreneur can pay to lease the unit and still make a profit.  At that point the program becomes sustainable, and there will be light throughout Haiti as the project expands.  Ultimately the project will positively impact 1 million Haitian people.

I cannot adequately articulate the excitement for this project that was expressed to us in Haiti.  Many said that this would be "bigger than Digicel", which is incredible in that Digicel revolutionized communication in Haiti by creating an affordable way for people throughout the country to communicate.  We have a lot of work to do, both here and with our partners in Haiti to launch this program.  The units are currently being fabricated and readied for transport.  The IEEE groups who have provided funding for this program are: Humanitarian Technology Challenge (HTC), Nuclear and Plasma Sciences Society (NPSS) and Power and Energy Society (PES).  As I could not articulate properly the excitement over the project in Haiti, I cannot adequately express their thanks to the IEEE for bringing this project to Haiti.

We will report on the businesses and stories from the customers, one of whom is pictured below:

Greetings from Haiti... It's been a very good trip

We Are in Port au Prince, Haiti ending an incredible trip, the best in a long time. Sometimes everything is easy, you meet who you need to and you accomplish a lot. This was one of those trips. It is clear here that everyone is bracing for the elections on the 28th. There are constant demonstrations all over the country. We saw marchers, a candidates arrival in Jeremie by helicopter, and every surface in the country is covered with candidates advertising. Everyone I talked to expects two things, a difficult election week, and no positive change from whomever is elected. Those who can are stocking up on supplies (food, diesel, etc.). For us, it's a good time leave. The good news is that we have accomplished so much, both on the energy projects and for kids here. We leave with great excitement and have a lot to accomplish before our return in January. Following posts will tell more, there are a lot of great stories coming in the following days. A picture is worth a thousand words, and I cannot add any from here... so please come back for the stories to come.

Haiti's Election Looms, Sirona's Development Moves Forward

We leave for Haiti on the 17th, our 4th trip this year.  Everyone is anxious about instability during the elections scheduled for the 28th because there a lot of frustrated people in Haiti.  Prior to our elections we see this, our economic woes are in sharp focus.  We don't see rioting, but imagine a country of 9 million people where more than 10% (1.3 million) are homeless and suffering, a cholera epidemic has begun, and the aid promised to your country has not reached you or your family... elections would be very tense.

It's important for us to travel now because we have some significant work to accomplish.  Sirona Cares has been working with the IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers) on a Community Solutions Initiative aimed at putting electricity in the homes of 1 million rural Haitians.  This, like all of Sirona's work, has been designed as a sustainable solution rather than a charitable drop of equipment.  The goal of our upcoming trip is to establish three pilot groups.  We will supply the equipment that they will need to (a) create a business with the power; and (b) begin a battery subscription program for rural customers who can receive and recharge batteries for use in their homes. 

The project has been in the works for some time, and the CSI team now has the funding to put three pilots into Haiti.  The equipment and set-up team will go down in January.  We need business plans from our enterpreneural partners and logistical information from them to get the project off the ground, hence the necessity of a trip during the election period.

In addition to our electricity project, our jatropha work has grown incredibly since the August trip.  We now have 500 farmers eager to participate in the Miragoane area alone.  I will be meeting with them, formalizing the program and funding the nurseries.  The need for funding is urgent, and the project will move as quickly as funds can be raised.  It has been an incredible year, full of tragedy, full of anxiety, and yet full of hope, positive action and progress.  The larger organizations are stuck, working on their strategies to move Haiti forward.  The funding for Haiti seems stuck as well.  Sirona Cares, I'm thrilled to say, has the advantage of being smaller and able to maneuver quickly creating positive change in our communities.  While others are talking, we are acting, and this should be a very exciting trip.