Haiti
Haiti is the poorest nation in the Americas and almost 60% of its population lives in poverty, subsiding on less than $2.4 per day.
The Republic of Haiti has the largest population of any country in the Caribbean. Located on the eastern part of Hispanolia, the island shared with Dominican Republic, it has a disproportionately long coastline due to the horseshoe shape of the country.
Haiti has long had one of the world's highest levels of food insecurity. In 2020, Haiti ranked 104 out of the 107 countries on the Global Hunger Index. According to the United Nations, 4 million Haitians, 42% of the population, face acute food insecurity.
Over 80% of schools in Haiti rely on tuition and enrollment fees to run their programs and children cannot go to school if their parents cannot afford the fees. With so much of the Haitian people living on a few dollars a day, even low school fees are difficult to pay. As a result 50% of children cannot attend primary school and over 60% of those that do drop out before sixth grade.
Only 38.5% of the Haitian population have access to electricity. In many rural parts of Haiti such as Durissy, less than 1% of the families have access to electricity.
“Lespwa fe viv.”
—Haitian proverb meaning, “Hope is alive.”
Learn more about our initiatives to bring solar energy to Haiti.
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Solar4Schools
Brighten Haiti’s Solar4Schools program brings solar electricity to schools throughout Haiti, especially targeting less funded rural communities. Brighten Haiti’s current campaign to deploy 109 solar systems throughout rural Haiti is the largest solar for schools initiative in Haiti’s history.
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Solar Apprentice Program
In 2021 we launched our Solar Apprentice Program where we train students in Haiti to install solar systems and equip them to launch their own businesses.
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Solar ReUSE Program
Each year the US generates over 13,000 tons of solar panel waste, most of which goes to landfill. Brighten Haiti screens these used solar panels to identify safe and productive systems that can reused to electrify homes, schools, and hospitals in Haiti.
