We had our first movie night at one of the schools where we installed a solar electrical system last March in a village outside of El Carmen. I didn't know what to expect when we told the people in this area to come to the school at 6pm to see a movie. It was really amazing.
We had finished installing solar systems on a school and houses close to the village of La Mora this day. As we returned to the village of El Carmen at around 5pm, Pastor Domingo told me that the people were already lining up outside of the school for the first every movie night. I was worried that nobody would show up, so I couldn't believe it. We quickly got all of the stuff ready and went to the school. We really felt good as we walked up to the school and saw the lights in the houses and the school. We installed the solar systems in the houses over 2 years ago and the school around 6 months ago. Here is a picture as we were walking up to the school. Look at that well lit school!
The movie was a cartoon in Spanish based on the animals of Noah's arc and how some of the animals that were different dealt with their situation. It was really inspiring for everyone that understood Spanish. This meant everyone but me, but I kind of caught the meaning. There were lots of jokes in the movie that I did not get, but I learned to just laugh when everybody else did. The movie was picked out by Arlen, who is an amazing person and great supporter of BTL Project. She gives us fruit and coffee too, but that is another story.
We ran the movie from the school solar battery, which is a 660Wh VRLA battery. We used a small projector, speakers, Jim's bed sheet and a USB thumb drive. I had done a trial run before, but wasn't quite sure if everything was going to work. Everything went great! We didn't have popcorn, but I just wish everyone could see the looks of wonder in everyone's face and hear the laughter in the room. Moments like this really inspire me and motivate me to do my best.
Here is a picture of the screen that we were watching. Now remember that with the refresh rate of the projector and averaging of the camera that you can't quite see the actual movie, but take it from me, the picture and sound were perfect. I know what you digital imaging people are saying, "Jim, haven't you ever heard of keystone correction?". I blame this on the movie screen that I was sleeping on later that night.
After 1.5 hours of movie, Roberto got up and gave a rousing speech. Not only is Roberto a great singer and guitar player, but he also is very inspirational.
What a night! I wish everyone could have been there and shared that movie with us on the side of the mountain. This was an amazing night that I will always remember. I think that some of these people will never forget.
Jim