PINE RIVER - Mary Jo Mettler, a retired accounting teacher, went to West Africa with a group of women who wanted to learn from the bold women of Liberia.
She heard about brave Liberian women putting an end to a long and bloody civil war using the force of their will power and their fervent desire for peace. She heard their stories, struggles, and witnessed a country that had been devastated, much of its infrastructure destroyed, including the central electric grid. Mettler reported about 1 percent of Liberians have access to grid electricity. Public institutions and businesses generate their own power at significant expense.
Mettler visited a large rural hospital during her trip, Phebe Hospital, and she had the opportunity to ask the medical director what the biggest challenge he faced was. The answer was power. Five diesel generators consume thousands of gallons of diesel fuel each month, so Phebe can light its operating rooms, power the lab equipment, cool its vaccines and medications, and deliver care.
Generating power in this way costs Phebe $35,000 each month. And the generators aren't foolproof. They break down. During some parts of the year, the road becomes impassable and diesel cannot be delivered. Or scarce funds have been used for other needed purposes and there is not enough for electricity. Every day the generators are cycled to preserve resources for other necessities.
The Phebe Hospital complex provides for the health and well-being of an area with 500,000 rural residents, cares for up to 150 outpatients and 125 inpatients daily, and houses a nurses' training facility from which nurses get deployed around the country. Phebe used to be one of the most technically advanced Liberian hospitals, but much of it was looted or destroyed in the civil war. As of summer 2014, they had four doctors on staff. About 50 doctors serve Liberia's entire population, which at four million people is roughly equivalent to the Twin Cities Metro area, which is served by over 9,000 doctors.
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Dr. Sibley and Mettler knew that there was a better way. Just north of the equator, in an area with an abundance of sunshine, they brainstormed about a photovoltaic (PV) solar microgrid. Phebe Hospital, serving patients in the fourth poorest country on earth, could not afford the up-front investment, despite a rapid payback. So Mettler got to work and RREAL, Rural Renewable Energy Alliance, of Pine River and other collaborators started coming on board for a project they called "PV for Phebe."
Logistics and other partners are in place, a local team with experience in solar installations will work with American installers at RREAL, a system has been designed, and parts are ready to be ordered and shipped. Over the last year, Mettler's vision has continued to build momentum making PV for Phebe closer and closer to being a reality. Donations from equipment manufacturers have been sought.
A crowdfunding campaign on Indiegogo called "Do It In the Dark" will further the fundraising efforts for PV for Phebe. The goal of the campaign is to raise $35,000, which is the cost of one month's diesel fuel.
The campaign is running through the end of the year.
Mettler's retirement dream had been to sit back and relax. Now there is a hospital half a world
away counting on her for a hand up, and with her dedication and devotion, she is not going to let them down, RREAL reported.
Go to igg.me/at/doitinthedark for more information on the Do It In The Dark Crowdfunding Campaign.
