In January 2010, a 7.0 Magnitude Quake struck near Port au Prince, Haiti. Over 3,500,000 people were affected by the quake; 220,000 people are estimated to have died and 300,000+ people were injured.<\/p>\n
One and half million people became homeless and 19 million cubic metres of rubble and debris covered Port au Prince \u2013 enough to fill a line of shipping containers stretching end to end from London to Beirut. Four thousand schools were destroyed.<\/p>\n
The Solar Electric Light Fund (SELF), a Washington, D.C.-based non-profit, recently completed the installation of new solar systems to power six primary schools and one junior high school in the Boucan Carr\u00e9 district of Haiti\u2019s Central Plateau. Close to 2,000 students in the communities of Georges, Vyet, Bois-Joli, Pouill\u00e9e, Pag\u00e8s, Bellevue, and La Chauss\u00e9e will now be able to attend schools with lights and computers powered by solar electricity.<\/strong><\/p>\n Since 2010, over 75 kW of solar power has been installed at five health facilities, and the final installations are underway at the two remaining facilities in Petit Riviere and Verettes. \u00a0In 2014 SELF is working on the development of solar micro-grids to power entire towns in Haiti in conjunction with the IDB, UNEP and NRECA.<\/p>\n \u201cAccording to SELF\u2019s 2013 Annual Report 1.2 billion people live in energy poverty and access to electricity remains but a distant dream\u201d said Marlene Moore, VP Marketing with Green Power Labs Inc. \u201cSolar technologies is a sensible energy alternative in areas with limited or no grid access\u201d Moore added and \u201c we applaud the collaborative work of international agencies, partnerships and not-for-profits whose mission is to assist those living in energy poverty with their economic, educational, health care and agricultural development through deployment of solar technologies.\u201d<\/p>\n