Lighting Hope for Haiti -- Port-au-Prince

EarthSpark Lights Up Haiti for Women and Girls

More than two years after the earthquake that devastated Haiti on January 12th, 2010, EarthSpark and its partners have distributed over 8,000 solar lights to women and their families in camps throughout Port-au-Prince and other affected areas.

Three main distributions of a few thousand lamps each were carried out in April 2010, September 2010 and most recently in December 2011.

Thanks to the documentation efforts of Melinda Miles of Let Haiti Live and photographer Evan Abramson, EarthSpark International is pleased to share with you, their supporters, a short video showing the profound effects of a simple solar lamp.

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Double the Lamps, Double the Light!

EarthSpark shares two pieces of exciting news about new developments in the past six months that are allowing them to grow their impact as a social enterprise delivering light and alternative energy to Haitians. Read more on the progress they are making both in terms of delivery of lanterns and as an overall organization.

Double the lanterns, double the light:

As we've said before, EarthSpark is a social enterprise, not an aid organization. Well, the markets worked their magic and due to finding a new supplier, EarthSpark was able to cut the cost per lamp from $13.75 to $7.61 meaning your project has funded nearly double the amount of lamps and will impact nearly double the number of lives. Congratulations!

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Exclusive Interview with EarthSpark CEO and Founder Dan Schnitzer

January 2011 marked the one year anniversary of the devastating earthquake in Haiti. We are using this occasion to check in with our two field partners working in Haiti: CARE and EarthSpark International (an update on CARE’s work in Haiti can be found here). In late January, we had the chance to sit down with Dan Schnitzer, EarthSpark’s Founder and Executive Director, and ask him about EarthSpark’s work, its partnership with Citizen Effect and Dan’s overall views on how relief work in Haiti is progressing.

EarthSpark International: Redefining Aid Work

The first thing Dan Schnitzer wants people to know about EarthSpark International, a non-profit dedicated to eradicating energy poverty, is that “it’s not an aid organization – it’s a social enterprise.”

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An Unusually Clean Store

“In a country [Haiti] where nearly 70 percent of the people lived without reliable electricity before the earthquake struck, a little sustainable technology can go a long way” comments Alyssa Danigelis from Discovery.com. This sustainable technology is coming from EarthSpark International’s Clean Energy Store in rural Haiti, which just opened its doors last week!

Families living in shantytowns where there is no lighting at night can now purchase solar panels, solar lamps, and ultra-efficient stoves. Haitian families that used to rely on kerosene lamps or gas stoves can now get rid of those pollutant emitting fire hazards and buy super-efficient renewable sources of energy.

Citizen Effect is featuring this Discovery.com report because of Discovery’s dedication to reporting innovative technology including the proliferation of renewable and clean energy. This store is also crucial because Haitian women and their families living in darkness at night now have access to efficient light energy so they can feel safer when moving about at night. See Alyssa’s full report on EarthSpark’s Clean Energy Store by clicking here.

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Clean Energy Relief now Possible!

Below is an excerpt taken from the Huffington Post written by Ruth Messinger:

“Five months after the earthquake, security in Haiti's refugee camps remains dire. In some camps, gangs and opportunists have hijacked the aid distribution system, charging high prices for food or demanding sex in exchange for access to aid... Cite Soleil, one of Haiti's most infamous slums, is a breeding ground for many of these injustices. Less than 28 percent of Cite Soleil's inhabitants have received aid from relief organizations; more than 50 percent of Cite Soleil inhabitants do not feel safe at night; and 20 percent of all violent incidents since the earthquake have been rapes.”

Citizen Effect applauds EarthSpark for their dedication to bringing clean, renewable energy relief to Haiti. As of April 30th, EarthSpark has donated over 3000 solar powered lamps to women living in dim lit shanty-towns whom are unfortunate targets for physical and sexual abuse. Read more in the Huffington Post on how EarthSpark is providing immediate and sustainable clean energy relief for the women of Haiti!

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