Power to Empower
Donation protected
Dear family and friends,
Valcourt and Kayla here :) It’s crazy to think that just 1 year ago we were preparing to go to Haïti to set up a computer literacy summer program that addressed some of the social divisions among youth in the neighborhood where Valcourt grew up.
We worked hard with the staff and teachers of Le Village des Petits Princes School to build the foundation for a self-sustaining program. This computer center continues to maintain 20 open office hours per week and serves over 300 people.
Since last summer, it's become clear that the lack of reliable and affordable electricity has posed the biggest challenge in operating the computer center. Due to the lack of dependable city-provided electricity, all of the school’s facilities rely on a costly gas-powered generator. Running the computer center alone requires 60 gallons of gas per month costing about $240 US.
For the past several months we have been working to turn this challenge into an opportunity for improvement. In partnering with Enersa, Haïti’s first-ever solar company, we want to install a solar power system that can provide sufficient electricity for the computer center, with excess electricity used for the school's classroom facilities.
We will also collaborate with Enersa to train 5 people from the neighborhood as solar power technicians to help maintain the school's solar panels and educate the community about renewable energy.
We're incredibly grateful to have received a grant from Lewis & Clark College to cover 95% of the projected costs. However, this funding doesn't cover all the expenses for this project - including our flights to Haïti, medical, transportation to work each day, and housing costs. The cost of living in Port-au-Prince has increased over the past few months and these unexpected increases have changed our initial fundraising goal(our minimum GoFundMe goal is $2,000 but we are hoping to raise $4,000). In other words, we really need your help to make this project happen!
Your donations will allow both of us to go back to Haïti for six weeks this July in order to strengthen this project so that more young people can access the computer center - gaining valuable computer skills, cooperating with other Haïtian youth from different backgrounds, and (starting this summer) learning more about the power of solar energy to enhance their community.
We really appreciate contributions of any amount, even $5 will help!
Thank you all so much!! Feel free to leave us comments and suggestions :)
Valcourt and Kayla here :) It’s crazy to think that just 1 year ago we were preparing to go to Haïti to set up a computer literacy summer program that addressed some of the social divisions among youth in the neighborhood where Valcourt grew up.
We worked hard with the staff and teachers of Le Village des Petits Princes School to build the foundation for a self-sustaining program. This computer center continues to maintain 20 open office hours per week and serves over 300 people.
Since last summer, it's become clear that the lack of reliable and affordable electricity has posed the biggest challenge in operating the computer center. Due to the lack of dependable city-provided electricity, all of the school’s facilities rely on a costly gas-powered generator. Running the computer center alone requires 60 gallons of gas per month costing about $240 US.
For the past several months we have been working to turn this challenge into an opportunity for improvement. In partnering with Enersa, Haïti’s first-ever solar company, we want to install a solar power system that can provide sufficient electricity for the computer center, with excess electricity used for the school's classroom facilities.
We will also collaborate with Enersa to train 5 people from the neighborhood as solar power technicians to help maintain the school's solar panels and educate the community about renewable energy.
We're incredibly grateful to have received a grant from Lewis & Clark College to cover 95% of the projected costs. However, this funding doesn't cover all the expenses for this project - including our flights to Haïti, medical, transportation to work each day, and housing costs. The cost of living in Port-au-Prince has increased over the past few months and these unexpected increases have changed our initial fundraising goal(our minimum GoFundMe goal is $2,000 but we are hoping to raise $4,000). In other words, we really need your help to make this project happen!
Your donations will allow both of us to go back to Haïti for six weeks this July in order to strengthen this project so that more young people can access the computer center - gaining valuable computer skills, cooperating with other Haïtian youth from different backgrounds, and (starting this summer) learning more about the power of solar energy to enhance their community.
We really appreciate contributions of any amount, even $5 will help!
Thank you all so much!! Feel free to leave us comments and suggestions :)
Organizer
Kayla Danielle
Organizer
Portland, OR
