Rotary Club Project Brings Solar Lights To Remote Haitian Village

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ALPHARETTA, GA -- Ticotollette is a small farming village located in the dry, desolate mountains of La Gonave, an island located off the coast of Haiti.

Approximately 250 people live in the village, which has no electricity, adequate sanitation, and is a two-hour walk from the nearest water source.

In February, the Rotary Club of Alpharetta joined in an effort to bring much-needed solar lights to the village.

La Gonave Partnership is made up of Episcopal, Presbyterian, Anglican churches, along with Rotary International, local Rotary clubs, and many other non-profit organizations, foundations and private individuals.

The genesis of this project goes back to 2015 when Alpharetta Rotarian Randy Schiltz’s daughter, Caroline, a 14 year old student at King’s Ridge Christian School, was serving with the group in that same area. She witnessed first-hand the challenges of no lighting in the small village, from delivering babies during the night to navigating around their homes and the trails of the village in the dark.

Caroline made the decision to tackle this task. The student learned of an innovative solar lighting product known as “LuminAid” after her visit to Ticotollette in 2015. These lights produce 30 hours of LED light (65 lumens) on a 7 to 10-hour solar charge, with 10,000+ lifetime hours of rechargeable battery.

Through a generous gift from the Rotary Club of Alpharetta, along with private donations, approximately 60 houses, the local church and school, along with 25 mobile medical teams, received LuminAid lights.

This project for the village of Ticotollette "would not have happened without Caroline recognizing the need and acting on it," the Rotary Club said.

In total, more than 100 lights were provided to those in the area, including the headmaster of the local school. He has to travel to the village each morning to begin building the fire used to cook lunch for the students.

The visit and work done on La Gonave would not be possible the support of the La Gonave Partnership, the Club added.

“This type of work makes everyone in our club proud to be a Rotarian and really personifies the Rotary motto of 'Service above Self'," Kirk Driskell, president of the Alpharetta Rotary Club said.

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Image via Rotary Club of Alpharetta