Our Crowdfunding Groups
Montaña de Luz (MdL) was begun as a hospice for children with HIV/AIDS in Honduras whose parents had died or had become too ill to care for them. Located an hour and half to the East of Tegucigalpa, on top of a mountain, and overlooking a valley of small towns and sugar cane fields, the Mountain of Light is a refuge for children who desperately need the specialized care, and nurturing that MdL offers.
In 2003, MdL transitioned from being a hospice to a home thanks to the availability of anti-retroviral medications. Its purpose is to love and care for these vulnerable children, empower them with knowledge and resiliency to grow into productive members of the community, and to raise awareness about HIV/AIDS while working to eliminate discrimination and prejudice against people living with the condition.
Ohio State Engineering service learning efforts at Montana de Luz, Honduras, have been running for over 10 years. This year’s class is focusing on three areas: solar, sustainable agriculture, and electrical distribution. The goal is to not only reduce costs for MdL to better achieve its mission of caring for children affected by HIV/AIDS in Honduras, but to provide education, training, and sustainable solutions to promote healthy communities in rural Honduras.
A solar panel installation will begin to reduce the electricity bill while taking key appliances off the blackout-prone grid. A solar education team will be dedicated toward preparing workshops to share their knowledge with the staff and children of MdL as well as students from a community high school.
To reduce the bills from the other end, an electricity distribution team will make assessments of and implement changes to the electrical distribution at MdL.
Drought-resistant, ecologically restorative agricultural practices will be implemented in an effort to produce food and to practice proven strategies for restoring degraded tropical land.
To do all this, we need YOUR help! Feel free to reach out to any of the project leaders for more information, we'd be happy to chat!
We can purchase a fruit tree graft to expand the sustainable hillside crop yield and provide nutrition for children in the orphanage.
A solar night light kit that the kids can build to gain an understanding of electricity and solar energy and encourage an engineering mindset.
Five high-efficiency light bulbs will replace existing bulbs to reduce the enormous electricity bill.
Miscellaneous wiring that can redistribute the flow of electricity at MdL to increase efficiency and reduce electricity bills.
A panel for a solar generator used to educate and serve as an entrepreneurial solar initiative for teenagers at the orphanage.
This battery can transfer the power to DC to control more solar panels in our system.
Solar panel connected to the kitchen that can generate electricity for the fridges and ensure safe keeping of food.
Employ part-time worker for 16 weeks to care for hillside garden and learn sustainable agriculture techniques applicable to future jobs
