THANK YOU to all who participated in the fall walking fundraiser!  THANK YOU to all who donated and sponsored walkers!

Your donations were able to purchase all that was needed for the solar panel project!  Solar panels, batteries, inverter, charge controller, wires, and lots of other parts and pieces were bought in Haiti to complete this system.

There were several technical difficulties, but all was resolved with lots of time and hard work.  The electric that was installed several years ago when the facility was built has never been used.  There was a number of wiring issues that melted one of the key parts to the system.  This had to be repaired and then lots of rewiring, light switches, and connections were redone.

Now, there are lights and lots of them!  There are 2 wards with 25 beds each, admit area, staff room, storage rooms, trash room, meeting room, and guard house …..  and they all have lights. YIPPEE!

We are also able to keep phones charged so that communication is improved also.  The plugs are in the nurse’s stations so that not too many items are plugged in to deplete the power reserves.

The 2 security lights are working as well and are keeping staff and patients feeling more safe in the darkness.  These lights were made by Enersa (here in Haiti) and purchased through a grant from Haiti Serve several years ago.  They hadn’t been lighting up consistently, but are doing much better now.  Because the cholera center serves a large area, some patients that live further away have never been to Cazale and don’t know the location of the center.  When there are no lights, there have been a few that have gotten lost and wasted precious time in receiving care.  These lights can be seen very well by people coming to the center at night and will prevent that.

Since we opened, we have always needed electricity and this is a huge blessing for everyone.  Solar power is ideal for the location of the cholera center.  There is plenty of sun and not too much shade.  These panels will provide light and power for years to come.

For the last 2 weeks, there has been a bit of a spike of patients and we have been having 5-8 new patients a day coming in very ill.  There are usually about 14-16 patients that are spending the night and each one has a care giver.  There are many people benefiting from these lights and power by the recently installed solar panel system.  Some of us take electricity for granted, but everyone at the center is so grateful.  Staff and family can care for these extremely ill patients much better at night.

It is so much easier to see at night to start and check IVs. Charting and cleaning is easier. Staff and patients are excited and so happy!  THANK YOU FOR LIGHTING IT UP!!!!

Thank you to all who participated!  We received a grant to cover the rest of the costs to buy the incinerator also.  It will be purchased in the US and shipped down in 2018.  We will keep you updated on the progress.