At SolarAid we love feedback and the letter below from Ronald Mkhwichi, the Headteacher at Koche School at the southern end of lake Malawi, is exactly the kind of un-promoted feedback we strive for. Mr Mkhwichi sent this letter, on his own initiative, to express his thanks for the work SolarAid have done with his school through […]
SolarAid’s CEO, John Keane, shares his thoughts after a month in the role. It’s good to be back. I’ve been getting all the usual ‘déjà vu’ experiences that you might expect someone to have when returning somewhere after a year or two away. I expect that feeling to continue for a little while yet. It’s […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
This short video shows the extraordinary impact of the support of SolarAid’s donors. It focuses on our work with schools in East Africa… and shows how solar panels are helping children to achieve better exam results.
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, […]