Orinda Rotary's "Light Up A Village" project, initiated in 2017 under the guidance of club member, Rob Parker, brought solar lighting to the remote island village of La Vallee, Haiti. So successful was this project in providing much-needed electrical service, Haitian President Jovenal recently expanded the project to other villages on the island of La Tortue.
“Light Up A Village” changed lives for the better in La Vallee, a village of 400 people, which has no roads, cars or electrical grid. Orinda Rotary’s solar-powered street lights have provided pathways the villagers can walk safely at night, a night market that has sprung up for villagers to sell and barter home-made goods, and lighted spaces where students gather to study and where small children play. Each evening, men from the village play dominos under the lights, village women hold a twice-weekly prayer group, and fishermen use the lights as navigational beacons after sundown and when storms arise.
“Light Up A Village” won Rotary District 5160’s award in 2017 for “Best International Service Project” among 70 Rotary clubs in Northern California. The project was planned and funded by the Rotary Club of Orinda, under the guidance of Orinda Rotarian Robert Parker. It was carried out as joint project between the Rotary Club of Orinda and the East Bay’s Gift of Nature Foundation.