A Haitian municipality lost power in the 2021 earthquake. It hasn't been back since.

Maniche, Haiti – Abaki Labossière welds a car engine in his workshop in Maniche, a town 201 kilometers (125 miles) from Port-au-Prince. It has been 14 years since the blacksmith returned from the capital to his hometown, after an earthquake killed more than 200,000 people in Haiti in January 2010. Port-au-Prince suffered extensive damage and the father of four lost his home and his job. Abaki, 42, returned to Manish to start over and opened a workshop where he began making iron stoves to meet local needs. “It was a success, and I was able to get back on my feet quickly,” he says.

But in August 2021, disaster struck again.

Another earthquake destroyed the South Mathurin Hydropower Station, the only supplier of electricity to Maniche. Since then, Manish has been without electricity, and power outages have forced residents to abandon activities that require energy. Others, like Abaki, were forced to find alternatives.

“In order to continue living, I had to rent a generator for 3,000 pounds [Haitian] He says: “The ride is a day, and I have to buy fuel.” “I know I have to work to rent the generator and fuel, but at least with the little I have left, I can take care of my family.”

The United States dollar remains unstable in the Haitian market, but at the current rate, one dollar is equivalent to 132 gourdes. This means that Abaki has to pay about $23 a day to rent the generator, in addition to the costs of fuel, the price of which is also unstable.

Long before the 2021 earthquake, Manish and Camp Perrin, a nearby town, had no more than 10 hours of electricity per day. Although this supply was insufficient, it provided businessmen and other local electricity users with power. When the hydropower plant was in operation, it often encountered problems such as engine breakdown and lack of fuel for operation, which were blamed on low power supply. But the situation worsened after the earthquake damaged the station, causing a complete power outage in the two towns.

Since then, Manish's streets have remained lined with poles and wires, with little or no sign that electricity will be restored anytime soon. For months, Haiti has been in the grip of violent gangs that have killed and injured hundreds. According to a report by the High Commissioner for Human Rights, 1,544 people were killed in the first three months of 2024, and 826 were injured as of late March. With former Prime Minister Ariel Henry resigning in March and no functioning government, it is unpredictable when power will be restored. While the mountainous region remains relatively peaceful, protests routinely block roads leading to the nearest large city, making it difficult to travel to and from Manish.

Rose Horgueil Point of the Day, GPJ Haiti

The decommissioned Soute Mathurin hydroelectric power station at Camp Perrin, Haiti. The plant powered the city of Manish, located about 10 kilometers (6 miles) away, until an August 2021 earthquake destroyed the building and stopped power production entirely.

Jordanie Bellevue, 34, a lawyer and teacher in Manish, has to go to a friend's house to plug in his computer. “I don't have the means to buy a solar charging system,” he says. “I'll need a lot of US dollars. With the possibility of missing important calls, I'm charging my computer and phone at a friend's house. That way I won't have to pay.”

This is not the case for Rosie Arius, a student at Manish University College who lives an hour from the city “Not only do I have to walk for about an hour, but I also have to have money,” she says. “Otherwise I can’t charge my phone.” When she needs to study in the evening, Arius often uses an oil lamp made of sheet metal with a wick. To iron her uniform A tin iron heated with charcoal is used.

“It is a real ordeal for us without electricity in our homes,” she says.

While living without electricity is a nightmare for most Manish residents, those who can afford solar charging systems are taking advantage of the situation to open businesses – selling cold drinks and ice cream, and recharging electronic devices.

“I manage to charge about 100 phones a day for 50 gourdes [about 38 cents] all. I also charge flashlights, phone backups, computers, and even rechargeable fans. Each device has a fixed shipping price. “I can also sell a lot of cold drinks when the weather is hot,” says Johnny Montomer, a young entrepreneur from Manish. He sometimes charges phones for free to relatives or strangers who don't have the means to pay. “I'm not going to let 50 gourdes be the reason someone goes home without recharging their phone,” he says. “Sometimes it's their only distraction or their only way to communicate with their family.”

“I don't have the means to buy a solar charging system. I would need a lot of US dollars. With the possibility of missing important calls, I charge my computer and phone at a friend's house. That way I don't have to pay.” Jordan Bellevue is an attorney and educator

Manish received electricity in 2001, through a three-phase connection to the South Mathurin Power Station. A Haitian company, ELMECEN, coordinated with Haiti's electricity utility, Electricité D'Haïti (EDH), to build the 11-kilometre (7-mile) station network. Construction began in 1980. At that time, Camp Perrin had a population of about 10,000 families and Manish was not yet on the grid.

“People were skeptical and only started to believe in him when the first shipment of columns arrived,” recalls Senator Pierre-François Seldor, who visited Maniche at the time as EDH director to help launch the project.

In December 2001, amid great fanfare, Manish was lit for the first time.

“It was a day of celebration,” Giordani says. “We danced and laughed when we first saw the light in our homes.”

Residents of Manish and Camp Perrin tried to restore electricity, but to no avail. Giordani, coordinator of the Maniche Youth Federation for Development, a Maniche youth federation for development, questions the authorities' commitment to solving the problem. He claims that officials have not yet assessed the electrical wires and poles that have fallen since the earthquake.

Meanwhile, the Youth Union took action.

Rose Horgueil Point of the Day, GPJ Haiti

Residents play dominoes under the street lights along the main street in Manish. Manish Youth Federation for Development, or Manish Youth Federation for Development, installed the lights to address electricity shortages after the August 2021 earthquake.

“My foundation reached out to Solo Energy CEO and Cavaillon Mayor, Ernest Ice, which led to the donation and installation of approximately 50 solar street lights in strategic locations downtown,” says Giordani.

Joris Ouremel, coordinator of Aksyon pou sove lavi, a non-profit association at Camp Perrin, has not been idle either. Several demonstrations were organized for one reason: to restore electricity to the area.

“We held marches and meetings with the community and EDH officials, but nothing changed,” says Oremel.

A lack of responsibility on the part of senior officials is to blame, says EDH's Roger Diogenes.

During a visit to the power station in 2023, the engineer in charge of the works at the time said that carrying out the repairs would cost 12 million gourdes ($90,517).

Except for some construction work, nothing else has been done at the factory, Oremel says. “A team from Port-au-Prince has done the construction work, so we are waiting for other technicians to put the equipment that moved during the earthquake back in place, but we don’t know when,” he says.

The insecurity in the country is not making things easier, which prompted Orimele to change course.

He says: “Technicians cannot come to Birin camp because the roads are blocked by armed gangs.” “We have made the decision to form a committee with members of the Camp Beren diaspora so that we can raise funds to move forward with the installation of the power plant.”

He says time is of the essence. “We are not sitting idly by. No place can develop without electricity.”

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