LCS Harnesses the Power of... Community
The Rockford Men’s Group and Loras College Team in the new LCS playground
The Rockford Men’s Group and Loras College Team in the new LCS playground With God’s grace, the impossible is becoming routine at Louverture Cleary. Yet another year with a 100% pass rate on the national Bacclaureate Exams? Impossible! Gender equity in the student body? In Haiti? Impossible! An Economic Growth Initiative to help our grads become entrepreneurs? Unbelievable!
If there was ever a question that LCS is part of something special, one need only set foot on campus, where 193 gleaming solar panels now provide visual testament to the truth that at LCS, where there is a collective will, there is a way. And that way is through community.
This past January, community was in full force as work teams from the U.S. by Sue Williams headed to Haiti to help complete two landmark projects: the final solar installation and the school/neighborhood playground. Though very different in their scope and application, both projects help to further the vision of LCS as the cornerstone of a healthy, vibrant neighborhood.
Consider the solarization of LCS. Set into motion by a penny campaign in the Diocese of Arlington, VA, and carried on the backs of the hard- working Rockford Men’s Group (RMG), the installation required four trips in just 18 months to complete. For the school, energy independence means an upgrade in the quality of the educational facilities, a break in the status quo of having to “make do.” LCS Principal Paul Hubert Pierre, extolling on the virtues of the new power source, notes that “Now, with the solar power, we don’t exclaim anymore, ‘Oh my gosh!’ when the computer switches off suddenly because the inverter was out of charge. The students are more enthusiastic about study hours because we have more light. Teachers use media like a DVD or CD player in class. This guarantees better participation and understanding from the students.”
Bill Derry, a 6-time veteran of work trips to the school and leader of January’s Rockford team, remembers the days when electricity from the grid came in fits and starts, creating major problems for the school’s computers and other sensitive electronic equipment. According to Derry, “These problems have been totally eliminated.” And ever-mindful of those who quietly keep the school humming, he recognized the benefits for the kitchen staff, “who arrive at 4:00am and had to begin to prepare the day’s meals by candlelight. Obviously, this is a big upgrade for them.” The solar panels are already running the pumps that provide water to the school and the neighbors; creative minds are busy finding other ways to use the power to the economic advantage of the neighborhood.
The final 48 panels were installed in record time by team members Mickey Ingles, Jimi Grondin, Loras College engineering students Robert Mitchell and Amanda Maxey, and the unflappable RMG, who inadvertently brought along the stomach flu with their 50-lb. suitcases of supplies. Luckily, they also packed Dr. Dan McQuillan – yet another gift from the Holy Spirit – who thought he was coming to build a playground but also contributed immeasurably to the health and morale of the group.
While part of the visiting team set the solar panels in place, others rallied to erect a playground on the recently purchased land, where, in the summer of 2005, a basketball court had been laid for the students’ use. Designed by RMG member and landscape architect Tom Graceffa, the playground features a balance beam, gymnastic rings, swings of various types, a tire snake, a play house, and assorted jungle gym equipment. Praised by Bill Derry as “the most well-planned construction project at LCS with which I have been involved,” the assembly nonetheless required the considerable engineering skills and creativity of the labor crew. For those who had sweated it out installation, it was especially gratifying to see power tools – run completely from power generated by the new panels – involved in the construction of the playground.
Bill Derry and sons Adam and Mark work on solar panels with Mickey Ingles
If you have ever been involved in a large-scale work project at LCS, you know that the MVP award doesn’t necessarily go to the lead engineer or architect, it goes to the chef. Taking on that role with grace and humility was Loras student team leader Jana Hosek, who has made enough trips to LCS (three, to be exact) to grasp that her services were most needed in the kitchen. With the help of her peers, and in conjunction with LCS volunteer Mary Jo Dunne, Hosek orchestrated meals for thirty to fifty tired and hungry workers each day, always served up with words of encouragement. After this, her second trip in conjunction with the RMG, she marvels at the close- knit relationship the two groups have developed; “We really watch out for one another and are community for each other.”
The seamless integration of various support communities from the U.S. on campus is possible only because of the incredible generosity of the community residing at LCS, who open their hearts to what must seem like a constant stream of visitors. Bill Derry, who brought his own ready-made community with him in January (enjoying the camaraderie of his three sons and his three brothers), describes with delight the moment on Friday morning when the gates of the playground were first opened to the neighborhood, when young – and young-at- heart – were invited to take advantage of this clean, safe, and well-constructed place to play. Watching his adult sons taking on the neighbors in an impromptu game of basketball, communicating only through smiles, laughter, and “high-fives,” he could see the community drawing tighter.
Endless thanks are due to the Loras College team, who work tirelessly – in Haiti and at home in Dubuque – to integrate LCS into the fabric of campus life. So supportive is their community that over $25,000 was raised to fund their travel and work in January!
As we reach the much-heralded conclusion of the solar installation, some reflection is in order. That the conversion went off without a major glitch is a testament to the planning and hard work of the entire LCS community – and the gift that we affectionately know as the Rockford Men’s Group. Four large-scale work trips, five years of planning, and a fundraising effort that spanned the U.S. result in a “thank-you” list too long to include here. A special thank you to Patrick Moynihan (THP President 1996 – 2006) for his vision of the solarization of LCS and his passion and dedication to bring it to fruit. For more information about the solar project click here
