Mayan Power and Light

Chitas Elementary School is electrified!

March 1, 2017 The Mayan Power and Light team came together with community members to install 490 Watts of solar power and set up 8 laptop computers, bringing an isolated community in touch with modern communications!

150 school children and 600 people in their village have a brighter life! Before they had empty, dark classrooms and no lights for evening homework. Now, they run a laptop computer lab, a community charge center, classroom lights, projectors, music players, nighttime meetings and family movie screenings!

The community was extremely well organized and dedicated to the project. They built furniture for the school computer lab, they did electrical work, they installed new security bars, they fed our solar team and housed us at their community hall. Ensuring a sustainable project, they set up a Solar Committee, created a special savings account and wrote a long-term fundraising plan to maintain equipment and internet connection!

Fatima, our star solar saleswoman traveled 8 hours from her home to learn advanced solar installation with Solar Tech Experts from Sunsense Solar in Colorado. Elias, Josefina's husband volunteered on her behalf while she's caring for her new baby. His volunteership and effort to learn solar demonstrated his great support for his wife's microbusiness. 

This is our first of many solar school computer labs with Mayan Power and Light. 

                 You can to help us do more!

• Donate $10 by March 15th to help us win a spot in GlobalGiving's Girl Fund!
• Start a Used Laptop Drive!

How?

1. Mobilize your workmates to bring in used laptops by a specific deadline!

2. Ask your workplace IT person to update computer software, virus scans, clear memory, passwords and private information and change the operating system to Spanish!

3.  Mail Laptops to:

4. Contact us to find out which school is getting your laptops!

Thanks to our precious GlobalGiving donors, the Mayan Power and Light team was able to adjust to unexpected changes and pull off a better social program that served the needs of the most isolated, low-income people in Guatemala.  Your support  helped us train 158 people in solar technology, and serve 11,399 people with solar lighting!

You got us this far, please consider helping us keep our program running with a monthly donation.

It helped me overcome my economic conditions and my knowledge about solar systems.   - Josefina

Gaging our qualitative impact based on the Grassroots Development Framework, Mayan Power and Light made a considerable impact on the lives of these women. 

They earned respect and esteem in their communities.

• Carmelina wired up the solar panel to turn on her town’s first light bulbs in their only public building.   
• Neighbors looked to Fatima for help in her community’s Circuits and Solar training.
• Neighbors witnessed Fatima’s skills installing solar on their town meeting hall
• Fatima’s mother, Julia, marveled about how people really look up to her and see her working hard to sell solar products.

They developed self-confidence to engage in public life with a stronger voice.

• They began to travel across country for the first time. Fatima, Delia, Carmelina and Josefina traveled to Xela for training.
• Fatima, 16, started travelling across the country for the first time, alone! She went to Xela several times for follow-up training and to pick up merchandise for urgent customers.
• Fatima helped teach Circuits & Solar to community members and volunteers in three solar installations.

• Natalia traveled across country for the first time with her baby to give sales support to other rural Mayan women. 
• They posted their own advertisements on Facebook and passed out leaflets.
• They spoke about social issues and the environment to clients and community members.

They increased their income from zero and invested in their family’s education and nutrition.

• Though their income varied extremely according to the season, they made on average of Q948 per month.
• The highest income earner was Delia with an average Q1,775.00 per month; lowest Q0.00, highest month Q10,500.00 in November 2016.
• Fatima used her November 2016 income to pay for next year’s Diversificado in Business Management.  She will bring new skills to Mayan Power and Light.

Links:

• ATC on National Public Radio 2016