Zuraidah Hoffman, NRECA International communications manager, went to Côteaux, Haiti, where NRECA International is establishing that country’s first electric co-op. Cooperative Electrique de l’Arrondisement des Coteaux (CEAC) will provide member-owners in three towns–Côteaux, Port-a-Piment, and Roche-a-Bateau–with affordable and reliable power. NRECA is partnering with Solar Electric Light Fund (SELF) to design and construct a solar-diesel hybrid system for the co-op, which has already registered more than 670 members and intends to serve 1,600 or more consumers. The project has been made possible with support from the United Nations Environmental Program (with financing from the Norwegian government), the U.S. Agency for International Development, the Inter-American Development Bank, and The NRECA International Foundation. The following is a first-hand account of Zuraidah’s travels while “On the Ground In Haiti”.
Day 1
These youngsters braved the rain to go to school in Haiti, unlike many of their classmates and teachers. (Photo By: Garrett Hubbard) Read more
Day 2
Gerthy Mezille opened a nursing school in her Haitian hometown to honor her mother who died because of a lack of medical attention. (Photo By: Zuraidah Hoffman) Read more
Day 3
Ice man Renold Pierre Paul Saphyr collects money from his customers. (Photo By: Garrett Hubbard) Read more
Day 4
Ferdinand Cadet at his gas station where motorists line up to fill up. (Photo By: Garrett Hubbard) Read more
Day 5
There’s no stadium seating, but movie night in Haiti is something youngsters look forward to. (Photo By: Garrett Hubbard) Read more
Day 6
No one will ever confuse market day in Côteaux, Haiti, with a trip to a supercenter. (Photo By: Garrett Hubbard) Read more
Day 7
Chad Denney (in blue shirt), Tommy Sullivan (red shirt) and Vince Heuser (green shirt) bat around a soccer ball with Haitian youngsters. (Photo By: Zuraidah Hoffman) Read more
More from Haiti
A flashlight is the only source of light for a young boy doing his homework on the streets of Coteaux, Haiti. (Photo By: Garrett Hubbard)
A woman cooks and sells food at night under one solar-powered light in the streets of Coteaux, Haiti. With no reliable electricity, she heats her food with charcoal. (Photo By: Garrett Hubbard)
A volunteer electric co-op lineman from Kentucky works with Haitian linemen to bring electricity to Coteaux, Haiti. (Photo By: Garrett Hubbard)
A competitive game of marbles develops after school. (Photo By: Garrett Hubbard)
In a town without reliable electricity, gasoline becomes a primary energy source for everything from cars to motorcycles to the generators that shop and business owners use. (Photo By: Garrett Hubbard)
Kids gather on a Sunday morning in the streets of Coteaux, Haiti, for a game of soccer. (Photo By: Garrett Hubbard)
Without washing machines, a regular chore for young Haitian girls is to wash clothes by hand. (Photo By: Garrett Hubbard)
Dr. Cadet Atsaly sees patients at the hospital in Port-á-Piment, Haiti. (Photo By: Garrett Hubbard)
A group of children had a free day when rain cancelled classes at a school in Coteaux, Haiti. (Photo By: Garrett Hubbard)
Family members at a home in Roche-a-Bateau, Haitai, wake up at 4 a.m. to do household chores such as preparing and cooking meals, ironing clothes, and sweeping. (Photo By: Garrett Hubbard)
Ruth, 14, one of four girls in her home, begins her 45-minute walk to school. (Photo By: Garrett Hubbard)
A group of friends in Coteaux, Haiti, share a flashlight to study and do homework. (Photo By: Garrett Hubbard)
This story was originally published in RE Magazine.
