News and views

Electricity for all by 2030 requires investment of $52 billion per year

The IEA (International Energy Agency) has put together an excellent report which carries out a detailed analysis of the progress being made in creating energy access for the world’s underserved populations. The report recognises that ‘Energy access is the “golden thread” that weaves together economic growth, human development and environmental sustainability.’ Yet at the current […]

Delivering change in Africa

The following post is from Debbie and Robin Hill, two SolarAid supporters who have made several trips to Africa to support health and social care programmes.  My husband and I first visited Uganda in 2013 where we worked voluntarily as teaching assistants at a school established by a Ugandan man and English woman. Having researched solar lights on the […]

Introducing Ukulele-Steve!

One man. One year. One plastic ukulele. The amazing Steve Phillips is embarking on a mission! Every single day of 2018, he will play a different song on his ukulele, video it, and post it on his blog, to help light up Africa. “Why?” Well, at first it was just for the challenge of it, to make […]

Remembering Eneless Kasala – The importance of solar in urban areas

The following is a short report from Alex Burrough, Operations Director of SunnyMoney Zambia. As I travel back from to Lusaka from Zambia’s Northern Province, I reflect back on what I have learnt over the past week. Northern Province is vast, over two days travel from SunnyMoney’s office in Lusaka, and most people there do […]

Sunshine on wheels – The Solar Roller

What do you get when you combine the power of the sun, a Jackie Chan action movie and your donation? Back in 2010 SolarAid converted a minibus into a 4×4 sun-catching, cinema on wheels – the Solar Roller! It attracted crowds across rural Kenya by showing educational films and movies. SolarAid demonstrate how solar energy can […]

Solar babies

Lighting in Africa is always a challenge, due to the limited reach of grid-based electricity and the dangers of using candles and kerosene which often cause fires. SolarAid is working to eradicate the use of fire for lighting and to provide safe, renewable solar lighting to people living in rural locations who often have no […]

Introducing our new CEO… and a new era!

  John Keane has worked in the off-grid solar sector for many years and was SolarAid’s second employee, more than a decade ago. John first lived in rural Tanzania 17 years ago and learned first hand what it’s like to exist without access to basic forms of infrastructure, beyond the electricity grid. Since this time, […]

Solar and conservation in Zambia

  Conservation of wildlife is a key activity in Africa and one that is very close to our hearts at SolarAid and SunnyMoney. When Conservation Lower Zambezi (CLZ) approached SunnyMoney in Zambia for sponsorship for their event we simply had to help. CLZ is a mission based organisation working on conserving wildlife and maintaining the integrity of the ecosystem […]

Agents of change – Bisi

As often happens here at SolarAid, Bisi, an African agent of change, stumbled across SolarAid’s work and couldn’t help but get involved as she immediately saw the benefits of solar lamps, and the impact they could make to people in her community in Nigeria. Bisi, now 76, understood at a very young age that the […]