Charity Spirit Aid and British installer Renewable Resources are seeking to light up the lives of schoolchildren in Malawi. They are working to provide power to 15,000 people and create the first solar-powered community in Africa.
Renewable Resources installed 11 solar panels at a local school in Mphata-Milonde, Malawi. The panels are attached to batteries to power the school as a stand-alone building without access to a grid connection. The installer donated laptop computers to facilitate internet access.
Now the two organizations want to extend the project to ‘light up’ the entire village and its surrounding areas. They are working to gain the help of businesses and individuals to enable the project to take place. ET Solar has already donated 10 high-efficiency solar panels.
Part of the plan is to set an infrastructure in place to educate the children to become future teachers and other professionals and train future solar engineers.
“This project is part of our commitment to use solar power to enhance the quality of people’s lives and also for the improvement to the planet. Just to see the look on the children’s faces made all the effort worthwhile,” says Renewable Resources Chief Executive Paul Gribben. “We want to take it to the next stage and create our village of light. It is a shining example of what modern technology can do to and how it can improve people’s lives.”
Spirit Aid has been working in partnership with the community of Milonde, Malawi for the last four years. The organization has initiated a Feeding Program for High School pupils which feeds 500 pupils every school day. Since the start of the program the school role has doubled to 500 and teaching staff have doubled to eight. The exam pass marks have also rocketed from 12% to 96% and the school is now the highest achieving school in Mulanje District and one of the highest in Malawi. Eleven graduates are now working as primary teachers in the community, two are police officers, two are Health and Welfare Inspectors and one is a Midwife.
Spirit Aid also runs seven pre-school nurseries, and each nursery has up to 150 children who are fed a bowl of porridge each day and are given lessons in Chichewa, English, Arithmetic and singing and dancing. Also, a workshop trains women in sewing and knitting using manual machines enabling them to earn an income from making school uniforms, industrial clothing, jumpers and sweaters.
The campaign will also facilitate the creation of employment, enable businesses to flourish and Malawians to extend the length of their day which still ends with natural light.
Anyone who wants to donate to the project can do so at www.justgiving.com/teams/rr.
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