THP Director of New School Construction Jimi Grondin started his new position with The Haitian Project on January 1st of this year. He spends much of his time in Haiti where he focuses on helping to move The Louverture Cleary Schools (LCS) Network forward and further developing the facilities program at LCS Santo 5. The updates below from "Jimi's Journal" chronicle a recent morning in Haiti.
THP Director of New School Construction Jimi Grondin (left) and civil engineer Odson F., alumnus of the LCS University Scholarship Program and former member of the LCS Junior Staff, check batteries outside the depot.
Saturday
5:05 am Just looked over my notes from the past couple of days working with Mickey Ingles [solar expert and former THP board member] who has played an integral role in bringing solar power to the LCS campus. Fifteen plus years later, he is still helping us work through the evolving solar environment at the school and planning for the solar systems at the new schools in The Network. On this trip, we performed a thorough assessment of the current systems.
5:36 am Early morning at the home of Patrick B. [THP board member and Haitian private sector leader]. We had productive talks with Patrick and Salomon A. [LCS '98, director of Haitian solar company Energy Central]. The overriding theme is strorage. An ideal system at LCS would provide three days of battery power backup—a significant improvement over the current battery banks. The other issue at LCS is ageing equipment, and we will be looking to replace some of the equipment with more recent models. Having universal equipment will greatly improve the ease of service in years to come.
6:44 am On our way to drop off Mickey at the airport. He has spent the last two days at the school gathering info. When I get back to campus, Odson F. [civil engineer and LCS physical plant superintendent] and I have some maintenance work to take care of. The rest of my time here will be spent at LCS with Patrick B. working on the new science building, along with more planning/strategizing for The Network.
10:37 am We dropped off Mickey, and I am back at LCS. Salomon and his Energy Central crew are in the process of installing the solar panels. Time to get to work!
Salomon A., LCS '98 and director of Energy Central with Claseen, a technician with Energy Central, during the solar panel installation at the new LCS Santo 5 science building:
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