Here is a great story I read by surfing the net:
The Prime Minister of Belize Hon. Said Musa today opened an innovative and future thinking project in the small remote village of San Benito Poite, Toledo. The Energia Fotovoltavica Renovable Project, which took just under one year to complete, utilizes individual solar panels to generate electricity from the sun's energy.
The village of San Benito has been virtually cut off from the rest of Belize until about six years ago when Hon. Marcial Mes, Toledo West area representative organized to build a road to the village. However due to the remoteness of the village which is located near the border with Guatemala (see map) a special kind of approach needed to be taken to bring electricity to the village. Therefore Minister Mes lobbied the Prime Minister who sought expertise from the METR international Italian company operating in Cuba to pilot the use of solar energy in Belize. METR has been on the cutting edge of practical uses for solar energy.
http://www.belizetimes.bz/news/story/4491.shtml
Here's some other fun details:
PM Musa in his remarks to the villagers of San Benito Poite this morning stated that their new solar energy technology is the future and that: "When I came here campaigning back in 1998 there was no road to Poite. The school building was a run down wooden building. No electricity. No water system. I am happy to say today, that there is now a road, a new bridge, a new cement school for the children and a water system soon to be completed. But today history is being made because San Benito Poite is the 1st village in the country fully utilizing 21st century technology to get energy. The power of the sun for the people of the earth here in Poite, that is the message my friends." However the PM cautioned the villagers of Poite that they must take ownership and responsibility for their new solar powered electricity system, "you must take care of the solar panels by cleaning it and not letting leaves and debris mess it up. And you must make sure that the children are careful around the equipment."
I guess children are the same all over the world!
