Jordan was a big hit with the kids, dancing as part of a pre-bed activity, reading to Aisha and Liadi, or as a mode of transport to Pendo.  Her two newest friends are Kelvin (12) and Connie (6), who the Egles family have sponsored, providing financial support for food, clothes and their education.  She hopes to help both these kids graduate from high school, and perhaps university.

Jordan’s experience in Tanzania was nothing short of amazing.  She enjoyed beans and rice for many meals, the super sweet Tanzanian bananas, and the occasional Fanta.  She got to see a pride of lions dining on a water buffalo, and fed many mosquitos herself.  But the most fun were the incredible kids of Tumaini. Despite their challenged backgrounds, they were caring, fun, and hard working – both in school and with the chores a household of 40 creates.

Meanwhile, Dear Old Dad, Dave Egles, did his best to prepare the Tumaini building for the solar system’s arrival.  Though it was shipped mid December, the container decided to spend an extra 2 months in Oman, missing ship after ship to Dar es Salaam.  No worries, its there now, but Dave had to content himself with rewiring the orphanage, building doors, reroofing a house in the community and in general chasing many of the kids around.  The container, with desks, beds, bicycles and clothes and one solar system should be onsite next week.  All of the wiring is in place for the new Magnum inverter system, Surrette batteries and the rooftop PV array.  Mama Dee’s husband Steve is now the chief installer, with help from the Tumaini team, Lohai, Raymond, Jeremiah and others.

Special thanks to Mama Dee and all the Tumaini volunteers for taking good care of Jordan and giving her the chance to help out!

To all the friends of HES and the Egles family we thank you for your donations that have helped make this possible.  Having spent 2 weeks with the Tumaini crew in Tanzania, we see how hard they work, and what an impact they are making for both the kids and the community.  If anyone reading this is ready for an adventure of a lifetime, sign up as a volunteer at Tumaini.  Tanzania is a wonderful place and Tumaini is too.   If you can’t go, log into the Tumaini site, www.Tuchifo.com, watch what’s going on and if you want to help, try fundraising in your community.  Every cent will be put to work directly in the community and for the kids.

Jordan didn’t want to leave Tumaini, and promised to return.  She continues her fundraising efforts through her school.    To Connie, Kelvin, Pendo, Ester, Christina, Martha and all the other kids – we’ll see you soon, and study hard!

Thank you for your support!

 Dave Egles and Jackie Spaens

See:

TUMAINI CHILDREN’S FOUNDATION
with hope, all things are possible . . .
WWW.TUCHIFO.COM     www.tumainimama.blogspot.com    Twitter@tumainimama

On April 12th & 13th, 2012, we will welcome solar business owners and installers to the Delta Hotel, Victoria BC (www.deltavictoria.com), for 2 action packed days of information, training and networking. See the latest solar electric products, and get new tools to help your business grow in today’s dynamic and prosperous solar industry. From selling ideas to code issues to product information, past attendees have raved about the value this event has brought to their business.

More info

Thank you again,

HES PV

Click Here to Donate to the Fund

The challenges that Mama Dee and her team face include very fickle utility power.  Before Christmas they had no electricity for 3 days.  The refrigerator was at room temperature, and all meals were eaten by candlelight and flashlight.

However, the solar system to run the orphanage is on its way, and at last count was in a container in Montreal to cross the Atlantic.  Dave gave the existing electrical system in the house a thorough review, and has come up with a master plan on how to integrate the 230V, 50Hz inverter system.  There is some very creative wiring that needs resolved, as happens in many 3^rd world buildings.

But the light at the end of the tunnel is that within a few months, the 40 Tumaini kids and volunteers from all over the world will have light, a working washing machine, power for security lights and refrigeration.

The Tumaini Foundation is seeking benefactors to help support this project, and the orphanage.  HES has pledges its support in many ways, including to help with the fundraising.  HES will top up any contributions by 25%.
Please see: WWW.TUCHIFO.COM

Mama Dee – Cherie M. Szucs, (Such) Executive Director
TUMAINI CHILDREN’S FOUNDATION
with hope, all things are possible . . .

With refrigeration, washing and cooking chores, lights and basic appliances, the electric needs are modest, but critical. HES has decades of experience designing solar power systems for remote home across Canada.

Providing 24 hour power to Tumaini is done in the same way as assisting a generator powered remote home in Canada, and uses similar equipment. Utility power may operate for 8 hours a day, offering some power for battery charging and for the hot water heaters. The problem is which 8 hours is unpredictable, or maybe not at all.

The goals for this project are to offer the kids:

• Electricity 24 hours a day
• Refrigeration that works
• Enough power to operate a washing machine (40 kids make a lot of laundry!)

The answer for the kids is a combination backup and solar system. It consists of a battery bank to store energy, an inverter to convert stored energy to 230VAC, a battery charger which works when the utility power in on, and a solar system to help contribute more energy. The subsequent HES design consists of a 4000W inverter provided by Magnum, a long term HES partner. The model is 230VAC, 50Hz to match the local electrical supply. The Magnum has a built in battery charger, which uses the utility power, when available, to recharge the batteries.For energy storage, HES has always recommended Surrette as the most robust batteries for residential installations. A bank of 8 batteries, with 25kWh of storage is being provided. We estimate the home will use about 12kWh per day, and the battery bank will run the several days without any utility power contribution.

The solar system consists of 4 solar 220W solar panels, which will be installed on the roof. On average we expect 3.5 to 4 peak sun hours in Arusha, so these panels will deliver 3 to 3.5 kW per day, enough for the fridge and some lights. The system was designed to be expandable, and more kW of PV can be added at any time.

The solar system is being assembled now, and will be delivered to a container which is leaving to Tumaini mid December. HES understands that local materials and expertise to install the system may be limited, so is shipping the system pre-assembled and crated. HES are including boxes of spares, electrical gear and wire with the shipment.

Funding for this project is completely by donation. With a total cost of $15,000, HES and the Tumaini Children’s Foundation are seeking benefactors to help with the costs. HES is donating many of the materials and matching cash donations at 25%. So far we’ve raised about $3000 towards the project, and HES would like to thank our suppliers, Magnum and Surrette for their help with this project. If you can help, please contact me at degles@hespv.ca.

Stay tuned for pictures from our upcoming visit to Tumaini in 2 weeks. For more information about Tumaini, see:

Mama Dee – Cherie M. Szucs, (Such) Executive Director
TUMAINI CHILDREN’S FOUNDATION
with hope, all things are possible . . .

• WWW.TUCHIFO.COM
• www.tumainimama.blogspot.com 
• Twitter: @tumainimama

By PAUL KRUGMAN
Published: November 6, 2011

For decades the story of technology has been dominated, in the popular mind and to a large extent in reality, by computing and the things you can do with it. Moore’s Law — in which the price of computing power falls roughly 50 percent every 18 months — has powered an ever-expanding range of applications, from faxes to Facebook.

“Home Energy Solutions is a major part of our Premier Distributor program in Canada” said Brandon Provalenko, OutBack’s Sales Manager for North America.  “Home Energy Solutions brings a wealth of renewable energy expertise and a strong relationship with the key players in Canada to help us strengthen this channel”, added Provalenko.

Home Energy Solutions is an award-winning, premier provider of renewable solar energy systems for commercial space and homes throughout Canada.  Founder and President David Egles is one of Canada’s leading solar experts with over 25 years experience at the helm of several nationally prominent solar companies and past President of the Canadian Solar Industries Association See also HES & T’Sou-ke Nation Receive CanSIA Solar Project of the Year! - CANSIA). For more go to  www.heshomeenergy.com

OutBack Power Technologies, Inc. manufactures innovative power conversion solutions that integrate solar, wind and hydro resources to provide reliable electric power for the renewable energy, mobile and backup power markets. OutBack Power’s engineers have decades of power conversion electronics design and equipment installation experience and share a passion for leading the industry into a new era of performance, ease of use, durability, and standardization.  OutBack Power is a member of The Alpha Group.  For this and/or additional information in electronic form, go to  www.outbackpower.com.
The Alpha Group represents a global alliance of independent companies that share a common philosophy – create world-class powering solutions for communication, commercial, industrial and renewable energy markets.  For this and/or additional information in electronic form, go to  www.alpha.com.