We are very grateful once again to secure another grant from the Atlantic Philanthropies. It's a privilege to our community and KACCAD at large. The grant given was used in a very effective way and its impact through community empowerment and environment conservation is evident.
Our goal is to enable underprivileged persons live a dignified quality of life through sustainable lighting technology and income generation from charging services and our objectives to promote solar lantern usage among communities in the very remote areas where conventional hydro-electric power supply is inaccessible also giving support to HIV/AIDS widows to set up and sustainably operate income generating businesses using the large solar lanterns which have cell phone charging capacity and to generate sustainable income for the organisation through procurement and sale of solar lanterns to needy customers at subsidised prices.
The grant came at the right time when, many reports, coming across from every angle shows; child-headed families, elderly persons, boarding school children, day scholars and vulnerable people have had fire outbreaks and their effects due to the use of Kerosene and candles.
Many homes have been polluted as a result of smoke which has resulted in many sicknesses and deaths. Let there be Light Bulenga project with a rural solar empowerment scheme ,that is a blessing to many impoverished communities in Uganda that have been suffering from a polluted atmosphere by Kerosene.
Nearly 50% of pneumonia deaths among children under five in Uganda are due to particulate matter inhaled from indoor air pollution. And it has also been researched by WHO that More than 1 million people a year die from chronic obstructive respiratory disease (COPD) that develop due to exposure to such indoor air pollution. Both women and men exposed to heavy indoor smoke are 2-3 times more likely to develop COPD.
Once again we honor the awarding grant from Atlantic Philanthropies upon recommendation from our sponsor of Let There Be Light Bulenga project. We have so far distributed 80% lanterns purchased from Green Light Planet Products through their partner Small Solutions Technology Consultants Limited and Energy Systems limited. KACCAD staff is involved in the distribution of the small lamps for free, though we intend in future to give the lanterns with chargers on semi-permanent loan at a less cost than actual cost basis and beneficiaries will retain ownership of the lamps with in six months after paying the agreed fee in affordable instalments, this will be done to bring the sense of responsibility and to help us sustain this program in future .
This project will also enable the organization to attain self reliance through financial sustainability acquired as a result of income generated from solar lantern sales.
The small lantern solar Lamps are targeted to empower orphans and vulnerable children (OVC), widows, women, youth from child-headed households, women-headed households, the extreme poor, and people living with or affected by HIV/AIDS and those with disabilities. However, we have designed a rule and guideline form for project beneficiaries, because the target groups are the persons who earn less than a dollar a day and persons who takes one meal a day, when given such a gift without measures they may sell the lamps to get food.
The Solar charger lamp loan system will involve Village Chairpersons, Village based Microfinance heads, labor departments and other partners in development; The above will act as guarantors for people who would want to have these solar lanterns, this will enable the sustainability of the project as people will adhere to the terms and conditions set forth in the solar charger lamp loan scheme.
After 6 months, KACCAD will do evaluation to find out the percentage of the distributed lamps in working condition. Collection of data shall be done effectively in the time frame and budget limit given, we have already got an experienced person in data collection, who are involved in the implementation of the Let There Be Light Bulenga project and the collection of data. In addition KACCAD Director and staff are involved directly.
You can help KACCAD’s Let There Be Light Bulenga project expands it’s coverage to reach out to more vulnerable people stuck in energy poverty by donating as below:
• A Fosera 4 lantern at $170 to provide a renewable source of light for 40 children in a classroom or dormitory
• A Sun king pro2 lantern with cell phone charging capacity at $ 47 to generate income for widows ,orphans, elderly in a group of 5 members.
• A Sun king mobile lantern at $32 to generate income for a group of orphans with 5 members
• ASun king solo lantern at $21 to provide a renewable source of light to a child headed household, household of elderly,widows,HIV infected household.
• A Sun king eco lantern at $12 to provide a renewable source of light to orphans and vulnerable children (OVC) households, widows, women, youth from child-headed households, women headed households, the extreme poor, and people living with or affected by HIV/AIDS and those with disabilities.
Thanks so much for being of support to Let There Be Light Bulenga project.
