From: Danise Gaspard, PES Secretary
To: Della Land, Program Coordinator
Monthly Report: October, 2001

We held a solar cooking seminar October 2-4, 2001 at the Free Methodist Bible Institute. There were 3 participants. After the three days of seminar, the satisfaction of the participants was evident, especially the fabrication of their cookers and the method of cooking without water.

On October 6th, two members from the Program were dispatched to the Plaza Hotel for a solar cooking demonstration at the request of Mr. Patrice, director of an association named ADISH (Haitian Association of Sanitary Engineering and Environmental Sciences). This request was made for the observance of the ninth Interamerican Water Day. Unfortunately the sun didn’t come to the “rendez-vous” and the food was not able to be cooked.

On October 8th, we visited the school of Pastor Gerald Bataille at Delmas 33, under the authorization of the president of the Program with the hope of holding discussions concerning the problem of deforestation in Haiti and the role of Solar Energy and to choose some dates for a demonstration and seminar. For some teachers who were there at the time of the discussion, cooking with the sun is a dream, not a reality. So they would love to see it with their own eyes, and for that reason they asked us for a demonstration which will be followed by a seminar for the students of the twelfth and final grades. They promptly chose October 16 for a demonstration and November 1-3 for a seminar because they wanted to take advantage of two vacation days. Without waiting, Pastor Bataille asked us to offer him another seminar preceded by a demonstration for the women’s group of the congregation situated at Delmas 33. Because, he said, the women really need the solar cooking techniques and that they will be very happy to learn this new technique. Dates chosen:
November 6 - Demonstration
November 14-16 - Seminar
On Tuesday, the 16th, nearly all the members of the Program were dispatched with panels and solar ovens to Delmas 33 for the demonstration to make it a success. However, not even one comma or decimal point of sun appeared! “What a bad thing the sun did to us!” someone said. But it was not really a bad thing, because as we know, God does everything for a purpose. We had to pack up and return to the mission. Right away Pastor Bataille telephoned to say that the seminar will not be possible in view of the economic situation in the country because the students cannot pay the fees. He also said that the seminar for the women was not able to be confirmed.

A visit was made to the Verettes parish by Esnaïder Marcelat, one of the instructors of the Program, in order to confirm the seminar for October 15-18. That seminar was canceled. According to the leader of the parish, the cause is the economic incapability of the people and few people signed up for the seminar. They continue to motivate the people for another date set for March 11-14, 2002.

For the seminar of October 23-25, we received three paid registrations. But at the last moment, two of the three persons stopped in at the store to say that they would not be able to come, and were encouraged to come to the next seminar in November.

Following a visit by Sister Marie Eva to the Solar Energy Program office, a date was set for a seminar in the Grand Bassin Zone for April 30-May 4, 2002. According to this woman, they believe it would really be nice to give certificates to the participants of the different solar cooking seminars.

We pray, finally, that God will give us new perspectives for better carrying out this Solar Energy Program.

Back