Solar Power for Radio | Cite Lumiere

Our ride from the airport.

Passengers with rolling suitcases waiting outdoors

Two-story peach house with person at doorway

Our friends at Hibiscus House became our Plan B for Friday night instead of driving straight to Cite Lumiere because of conditions on the road.

Five people eating at communal dining table

First meal after deciding to stay the night at Hibiscus House. We would leave before sunrise the next morning to go to Cite Lumiere.

Very early morning visit to the Radio Lumiere studio in Carrefour.

Bearded man observing studio session through glass window

Vehicle trouble; seemed that something was wrong with the suspension.

Carl and Roy waiting inside the market while we figured out what to do with the car. We did a good bit of waiting this week.

Rocks scattered across roadway near houses

We saw a good bit of this, and much more, on the road to Cayes and Cite Lumiere.

Charred tires and trash in middle of street

On the road near Cavaillon.

Two story white building with gated driveway

MEBSH Guesthouse at Cite Lumiere, our home for the next several days.

Travelers with suitcases outside white building

Community lounge with sofas and folding tables

Small white building with motorbike, workers on roof

Radio Lumiere's Cite Lumiere studio.

Group of men in unfinished concrete room

Discussing work plans for the upcoming week.

Weathered concrete stairs with palm trees and debris

Church choir performing on decorated stage

Sunday service at St. Simon Church. There were several choral groups who sang that day.

Large church congregation during worship service

Bearded older man with two boys in church

Carl and friends.

Large white warehouse with lawn and trees

Outside of MEBSH Simon Church.

Sunset-lit mountain above forested valley

Sunset reflecting off of Massif de la Hotte.

Construction workers installing window in concrete wall

Two workers installing metal roof panels

Worker kneeling with drill in concrete room

Workers installing solar panel among palm trees

Taking the first panel up on the roof.

Two workers installing solar panels on roof

Electrical panel and inverter mounted on plywood

New inverter and switch gear.

Man using drill on textured concrete wall

Lolo using his electrical construction skills.

Two people holding PVC pipes at construction site

Man using power drill on electronics enclosure

Roy working on a junction box.

Three workers installing rooftop solar panels

Testing the solar panel wiring.

Three people installing electrical box in wall

Two workers installing conduit along a wall

Installing devices.

Technician kneeling installs electrical conduit at wall

Our young apprentice.

Two people installing electrical box in wall

Three men looking at phone outside building

Reviewing the specs.

Workers installing solar panel on building roof

Taking the last panel up.

Three men inspecting rooftop solar panels

Parts issues:
Due to difficulty obtaining parts we had to get creative with mounting the panels.

Three men conversing outdoors on plastic chairs

Meeting with Pastor Alneve from the MEBSH to discuss projects and opportunities.

Four men standing outdoors smiling by trees

Four men standing by rooftop solar panels

Almost complete.

Workers installing rooftop solar panels in countryside

Setting the last unit in place.

Five adults smiling outdoors near small white building

The team.

February 8 - 18, 2019

The plan was to install a solar power generating system to operate Radio Lumiere's Cite Lumiere station.

We arrived in Port-au-Prince Friday afternoon and immediately changed our plans due to civil unrest. We spent the night at our favorite guesthouse not far from the airport instead.

We chose to leave under the cover of darkness the next morning to get a start on our over the road trip to the Les Cayes area, where we would be staying at the MEBSH Guest House adjacent to the Cite Lumiere station.

Due to the nationwide unrest, we had challenges obtaining material and we had to modify our travel.

In the end, we were still successful due to the generosity of our friends from Harvest Call who had enough material for us to get our project operational, even though not complete.

We are grateful to God for our safety and for Harvest Call's generosity.