Americans love to go to the movies. Haitians are no different.
“On some Friday and Saturday nights we have movie nights,” said Dana Brosig. “I love the children in this community and I want to broaden their imagination and minds with things they have never seen before.”
Brosig is the project manager for NRECA International’s effort to bring reliable electricity to Côteaux and nearby towns. Her neighbors—especially the children—spend a lot of time with her in her garden and in her home, playing games or just hanging out.
On this Friday night, word spread quickly on her street that it was movie night and they were waiting. The kids know what to do to get things ready. They dragged a small table out and hung a sheet on the wall.
Brosig threw a long electric cord over her wall and set up her computer, projector and small speakers on the small table. Chairs appeared too. After discussion on which movie to watch, it was agreed. They were going to watch “Peter Pan.” In French.
About a dozen kids and a few grown-ups comprised the audience that night. As the sun went down, it was show time. I went in the house with Brosig to make popcorn on the stove and handed it out to the kids.
These kids don’t have TVs, have never browsed the Internet or kept up with their friends via Instagram. I bet they talk to each other a lot. There aren’t many things for them to do in the evenings here after the sun goes down. The darkness in this neighborhood is illuminated by a few solar street lights, and homes that have kerosene or solar lamps.
But on Friday or Saturday nights, Brosig’s street is lit by the sheet hanging on her wall and the faces that are watching the movie.
Read the entire series of dispatches from Haiti on NRECA International and the people it serves.
This story was originally published on RE Magazine.