Well, the big day finally arrived! PedGen 1 survived the journey to the village of Nan Zeb on the Island of LaGonave. One of my team members, Nathan, had pre-drilled holes for bolts in the wooden bicycle stand so that it could be reassembled without screws and a drill. Nathan did a fantastic job of getting all the parts put together and fastened with the new bolts, although we had some difficulty because we were limited to a few tools: a hammer, a wrench, and a socket set. Luckily, a curious Haitian man happened by and offered to help. He also had a pair of pliers which were just what we needed. We were very thankful for his patience and persistence.The only two items damaged in transit were the peanut butter lid (on the end of the generator shaft) and the wire for the speedometer. Fortunately I had packed an extra speedometer - crisis averted!
On our last full day in Nan Zeb, on of our translators, Cowboy, told me that he would really be able to use the generator, but he did not want to take it away from someone in Nan Zeb if a recipient had already been selected. Cowboy told us that he pays $2 (Haitian or US?) each day to charge his cell phone. "Now I keep that 2 dollars and some other people gonna pay ME to charge their phone!" I was happy to give the generator to Cowboy. He has good knowledge of English, so I left the PedGen manual with him and written instructions on troubleshooting with the voltmeter. If something breaks down on the generator, Cowboy can call and I can send the necessary part with the next team headed to LaGonave.
Mission accomplished!
On our last full day in Nan Zeb, on of our translators, Cowboy, told me that he would really be able to use the generator, but he did not want to take it away from someone in Nan Zeb if a recipient had already been selected. Cowboy told us that he pays $2 (Haitian or US?) each day to charge his cell phone. "Now I keep that 2 dollars and some other people gonna pay ME to charge their phone!" I was happy to give the generator to Cowboy. He has good knowledge of English, so I left the PedGen manual with him and written instructions on troubleshooting with the voltmeter. If something breaks down on the generator, Cowboy can call and I can send the necessary part with the next team headed to LaGonave.
Mission accomplished!