30488: Rigdon (reply/comment) What to do in Haiti vs. How to do it (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: John Rigdon
jrigdon@researchonline.net

I read with interest this morning the discussion regarding the most
recent reports of what Haiti needs and the responses from "Haiti needs
jobs" to "Haiti needs agriculture" to "Haiti needs technology" to "The
government needs to provide this" to "the government needs to provide
that."

Years ago while I was struggling with documenting a computer accounting
system that I had written, I had a client tell me that it was easy to
tell someone "what to do" but telling them "how to do it" is much more
difficult.  That phrase has stuck with me, and while I have only been
involved in looking at the Haiti predicament for 3 years now, I think
this is the prime component we need to address.

I'm not dissing the Haitian people, but we Americans have been trained
better than anyone in the world at problem solving as is evident in the
continuing innovations we all enjoy. And while Haiti is a true "rubics
cube" of "you can't do this without first doing that" I think there are
some things we can do to improve the lot of the Haitian people.

To that end, one of the things I have been working on is solar lighting
for the typical Haitian home.  The problem was brought to my attention
by a mission website I visited and while I experienced it first-hand the
past two summers, til now I had not given thought to doing something
about it.  Imagine living here in the US in a situation where you had NO
light in your home from sundown to sunrise.  We have become so
accustomed to having light that we can't endure even a couple of hours
as a thunderstorm passes.  Imagine having a child get sick at night or
your wife having a child come at midnite.

The constraints of this problem are:

1. No money!!!
2. No knowledge of the technology and what it takes to implement.
3. Did I mention there's no money?
4. Logistics of getting the pieces into Haiti.
5. Did I mention there's no money?
6. How to install and maintain the system.
7. Did I mention there's no money?
8. Security for the installed system.
9. Did I mention there's no money?

OK, OK - so we don't have the money to implement a $300 - $10,000
system. The new LED lights and the 3 / 6 / 12 volt DC bulbs offer a
route that can be done for much less.

I'm experimenting with a solar system that can light one room for less
than $100 U.S. - no recurring monthly costs - and should last 5 to 7
years with little or no maintenance.  I will be testing the pieces when
I go to Haiti in a couple of weeks and expect to publish a report when I
return.

I welcome your ideas on this project.

John Rigdon