More ills than its 6,500 patients bring every month to the Polyclinic of Lidia Saavedra de Ortega in Managua, Nicaragua, once plagued the country’s only pay-as-you-can healthcare site for the elderly. For years, the clinic faced frequent electrical outages, unreliable service, and power fluctuations that damaged X-ray machines, MRIs, and other expensive medical equipment.
What could cure that? Members of the Purdue chapter of the National Electrical Contractors Association (NECA) put their brains and ideas to work and decided a photovoltaic panel system might be the prescription for dependable power.
The students packaged and pitched their proposal in 2014 at the inaugural Student Passport Initiative Competition, sponsored by ELECTRI International — The Foundation for Electrical Construction.
Projects funded had to be student-led and focused on underserved areas where students could bring or expand electrical service. Purdue’s was one of two chosen, landing $20,000. Local NECA contractors kicked in another $6,000, and others contributed.
Preparation work included studying a completed project at Knoy Hall on Purdue’s campus that involved upgrading solar infrastructure, evaluating every aspect of their proposed project, and designing the system.
They also faced and conquered some project challenges, and, finally, spent a week last Thanksgiving on the roof of the Nicaraguan clinic, installing the solar-power prescription at no cost to the clinic.
For Riley Seahorn, a senior in building construction management, the project brought many learning opportunities in solar power and in helping others. “My concentration has been electrical, so having the opportunity to work in solar, a different sector of the industry, was really cool,” she says.
But it went way beyond that. “Seeing how many people use the facility every day made what we were doing so much more rewarding, so much bigger than ourselves,” Seahorn says.
Of the challenges, she says, “Hard work and perseverance will pay off, I learned that. It’s something I can carry into my future — not to give up when things get a little tough.”
“Seeing how many people use the facility every day made what we were doing so much more rewarding, so much bigger than ourselves.”
—Riley Seahorn
The locale for the project that would supply a more dependable source of power to the clinic was suggested by Purdue NECA member Juan Pablo “JP” Lacayo, who hails from Managua. His parents helped with some onsite details, and he made the work trip before graduating in December. Other students joining him and Seahorn were Gerson Astudillo and Nickolas Myers, also members of Purdue NECA.
“This is one of the better ways to learn,” Lacayo says. “The building experience was powerful, and doing something for someone else, to help with their health, was a great experience, too.”
After selecting and outlining their project, students designed a 20-panel, 6 kW expandable photovoltaic system, then priced and ordered materials from Nicaraguan suppliers. Their goal: install a stand-alone, roof-mounted system that would immediately power the 5,000-square-foot, 14-room clinic. At the same time, the system would provide research information for future improvements and expansions.
They did face some who doubted their system would work and convincing them was another valuable lesson.
Along the way, guidance came from NECA chapter faculty advisor Brian Loss, a clinical assistant professor, and lecturer Erick Smith, both in construction management technology.
They, too, made the trip, and even gave the students an unplanned lesson in resolving on-the-job disagreements. “There’s an inherent friction between engineers and constructors,” Loss says. “The students saw how you get all the issues on the table, go back and forth, and get a resolution. It was wonderfully instructive.”
Exposure to a culture other than their own was another takeaway, Loss says. “That was a big part of their education — to meet the people, who were warm, inviting, and genuine, and to see the Nicaraguans’ creativity and beautiful buildings.”
Overall, Loss says, “The lessons were huge. These students have not seen the kind of poverty we saw there. They experienced the joy of serving people. And the students were the absolute best. We got through the project in stellar fashion.”
The site work took four and a half days, which included installing the solar panels, racks, feed for expansions, junction box, and server surge protectors. Seahorn feels positive about the opportunity. “I’m proud of what we did. They were so grateful, very thankful.” And the television news covered their volunteer work, she says.
“Our team gave 120 percent to put this together,” Lacayo says. That included many who helped in the planning, such as students Nicholas Bogucki and Kimaya Gandhi.
“It was the single most important thing in my career as a student,” Lacayo says. “We helped people who didn’t have the money to pay for it. They were ecstatic.”
Next up: a second dose of healing medicine planned for May 2017, when Purdue NECA members hope to return to Nicaragua to expand the clinic’s solar system and train local tradespeople.