GRID’s International Program is raising funds to bring solar to a children's home located in the town of Los Aguirres, San Marcos in Carazo, Nicaragua called Finca Los Cachorros. Los Cachorros supports 30 low-income children from ages 6 to 13 years old who live at the home or take classes at the farm. Children who live at the home or kids who live nearby can attend classes to learn more about carpentry, sewing, metalwork, pottery and more. Solar can help power these appliances so Los Cachorros can offer more classes to more kids and more services to its residents.
In 2023, GRID hopes to install a 3.4kW grid-tied solar system at the home to reduce the monthly electricity bill, saving the farm money each month that can be reinvested to support more children. The farm is connected to the national electric grid, but power outages are frequent and the home’s monthly electricity bill is high.
Los Cachorros is part of the Los Quinchos Association where more than 120 children from different children's homes that the Association supports may benefit from the cost savings of the solar system. Association Los Quinchos was founded 32 years ago by Italian volunteers who initially founded Casa Filtro in Managua to support children living in the markets or nearby neighborhoods. The idea was to support infants living in poverty, children who were victims of abuse, kids affected by drug addiction, and children who sniffed glue to minimize feeling hungry.
Due to the global COVID-19 pandemic, financial support for the homes that Los Quinchos Association supports dramatically decreased so many classes and workshops had to close due to the high electricity costs. Solar can allow Finca Los Cachorros to offer workshops again so kids at the farm and kids nearby have a safe place to learn new skills and receive support.
The Los Cachorros farm was built in the early1990s and the building structures and the AC wiring are in need of repair. In addition to bringing solar to the home, GRID hopes to upgrade the farms electrical AC wiring and infrastructure to provide a safer environment for the residents and guests. The cost savings from the solar system may be used to offer workshops once again, to make improvements to the building structures and to support the other homes in the Los Quinchos network where needed.
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