Continuing THP’s commitment to environmental stewardship, the Radia Lab is fully solar powered. The components to power the lab were put in by Energy Central, a Haitian solar installation company co-founded by LCS Alum Salomon Asmath (LCS ’98). The system will provide sufficient electricity for the whole building, including two classrooms, the science lab, a teachers’ lounge, and an air-conditioned computer lab with capacity for 30 students at a time.
The new building was made possible through the generous support of the Dell Family Charitable Fund along with other members of the US support community, and with the backing of THP’s friends and partners in Haiti. Enthusiastically providing the lead gift for the building was the family of Maulik Radia, a strong supporter of science education at LCS and owner and operator of the largest plastics infusion molding factory in the country. Several LCS graduates are pursuing their careers with Radia’s firm.
The Radia Laboratory of Science and Technology exemplifies THP’s commitment to subsidiarity, utilizing Haitian resources and expertise in order to support the local economy and community.
According to Patrick Brun, head of THP’s partner foundations in Haiti, the lab is a “maximum impact project.” An undertaking such as this involves people and enterprise on all levels. Having overseen the Radia Lab from concept to completion, Patrick sees “the economic impact at every level; a whole spectrum of people—engineers, architects, workers in all the trades. Working together, they have created a substantial resource for the future.”
