JALONGA SOLAR PROJECT SHIPS OUT
Reprinted with permission from the 03/23/2017
issue of eNews, the newsletter of Christ Church Christiana Hundred
Posted April 5, 2017
The solar panels loaded for transport. To see more photographs of this project, click here.
Christ Church Christiana Hundred (Wilmington, DE) and the Dominican village of Jalonga (click for location) have enjoyed a special partnership of friendship and mutual community building since 2001. This June, with the support of two ministries within the Episcopal Church, the Dominican Development Group and United Thank Offering, they will be installing a rooftop solar system on the Community Center in Jalonga in order to provide reliable and renewable electricity to the Center and power a newly drilled water well on the property. All materials including solar panels, docking units, and the electronics and batteries necessary for the installation were recently loaded into a Seaboard shipping container. Those materials are now in transit. A team of eight, including up to five Christ Church parishioners, will travel to the Dominican Republic to install the system between June 15-22, 2017.
This chapter of the Jalonga story would not have been possible without the vision of Father Ricardo Potter to build the Jalonga Community Center. The Solar Power Project, a collaboration between the Episcopal Dioceses of Delaware and of the Dominican Republic, is led by Brad du Pont, John Faulkner, Lynne Jensen, Scott Johnson, Bill Kunkle, Eric Romano and Tomoko Werbe. Scott Johnson has provided technical leadership working with two stateside partners, Solardock and CMI Solar Electric, Inc., and the local DR engineering team to ensure all materials shipped are ready for installation.
In November of 2001, Christ Church was invited to join the work of Father Potter, the people of Jalonga and the Diocese of the Dominican Republic. Since then, they have hosted annual mission trips to Jalonga with overwhelming support and enthusiasm from participants. Missioners work to broaden their experience and understanding of the people of the Dominican Republic, while building lasting and fulfilling relationships while partnering in ministry together. Numerous family and youth work camps have taken place over the years. Much good work has been done in the village of Jalonga, and additional trips, including a youth mission trip this June, are planned.
For more information about this Dominican Republic ministry, click here. For more information about Christ Church Christiana Hundred, click here.