Bright Idea and Joint Partnerships Bring Power to Haiti

This story comes from the Montgomery News 

A Joint Project with Local Independent Schools to Build and Install Solar Suitcases in Haiti 

Stone Hill Church of Princeton (formerly Westerly Road Church) has long had a fruitful partnership with churches and ministries in Haiti. After the devastating earthquake in 2010, Stone Hill increased its commitment to its partner ministries in Haiti, with regular short- and long-term service trips and volunteer efforts.

This spring, Stone Hill is partnering with a number of local independent schools and nonprofit organizations to bring portable solar energy units to key sites in Haiti. The Stone Hill missions team has coordinated efforts with KONEKTE (an educational nonprofit implementing initiatives in partnership between Princeton and Fond Parisien, Haiti), Foundation for Peace (a NJ-based nongovernmental organization with an office based in Haiti), and We Share Solar (a nonprofit dedicated to supporting collective solar-energy education and initiatives). Together, these organizations brought curriculum and materials to enable students from Princeton Day School and Stuart Country Day School of the Sacred Heart to learn about the engineering involved in generating solar power and build four solar suitcases to be installed in Haiti.

This is an example of a solar suitcase.

A single solar suitcase can be used to provide highly efficient lighting and power for mobile communications, e-readers, and small electronic devices. Each suitcase is a fully integrated system, with lighting appliances and power production components delivered as a single unit, designed for daily use. The system is designed to be low-maintenance, with no fuses to replace and very simple battery replacement every 2-3 years. The system is plug-and-play and can be installed without need for an experienced solar technician, but is also designed for future expansion.

Installing the solar suitcase on the roof of the church in La Hatte Cotin

The strategic partnerships in Haiti already developed by Stone Hill and KONEKTE helped to inform the decisions of where to deploy these solar suitcases. Two suitcases built by the Princeton Day School were delivered to Haiti in March by a team from Stone Hill Church, comprised of local residents and University students. Two more suitcases, built by Stuart Country Day School, will be delivered in June by a team sponsored by KONEKTE – a team comprised of local residents and students from the Princeton area Upper Schools. These suitcases will be installed in schools and churches (whose facilities are also used as schools and community centers) in Fond Parisien, Haiti.

The suitcases themselves will provide sorely-needed power reserves to these sites, and Stone Hill Church and KONEKTE will continue to support training and education initiatives that will enable the staff and students at these sites to maintain and expand these solar energy systems.