Our main client, La Mision Children’s Fund, is a non-profit, all volunteer organization located in Tijuana, Mexico, that helps children that lack the basic necessities of living. They work with different project, such as food banks, family centers, sustainable energy, and clean water, to provide resources for the impoverished. Our two main points of contact, Steve Ellis and Kathleen Dwyer, connected our team with Hacienda de la Inmaculada Orphanage.

 

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Installing solar water heating systems at this site was deemed to be very beneficial for the orphanage. Emma and Juan, the directors of the orphanage, have spoken to us about their major concerns with their current water heaters. While there are four areas of concerns (kitchen, laundry, boy’s and girl’s dorm), our team has decided to prioritize on the boy’s and girl’s dorm water heater first based on their frequent use. Their low hot water capacity cannot provide enough hot showers for more than fifty children (about 34 girls, 20 boys). Only three or four children can shower before all the hot water was depleted. The cost of propane to fuel the water heaters was also very high, amounting to $12,000 pesos ($640 USD) per month. The sustainable energy supplement to water heating would alleviate the high financial cost of propane. 

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