Since 2018, Afri has worked with our partners Development Pamoja and The Kenya Pastoralist Journalist Network (KPJN) to provide solar lights for families and vulnerable members of communities in rural Kenya. Continue reading “Solar Lights for Kenya”
Afri Solar Lights in Kenya
Where the lights shine
Christina Sote with Joe Murray
I had the privilege of visiting Kenya this summer and meeting some of the people who’ve received solar lights as part of Afri’s partnership with Development Pamoja. I was amazed at the difference that a small and relatively inexpensive solar light can make to people’s lives.
In the company of James and Maasai from Development Pamoja, we visited many homes where the light was shining and were told of the benefits it had provided. For example, Christina Sote (see short video on our YouTube channel) uses it as a torch, if she hears rustling outside after dark, she can check to see if there is a snake about. She also uses it when she is cooking, to help her grand children when they are reading at night as well as to charge her phone, saving her a walk of many miles, which she used to have to do.
Likewise, 28 year old Judy Chelangat lives in the village of Lomolo with her eldest son, Matthew who has a disability. Judy says the solar light helps her to care for her children in the evening, helping with cooking and other chores. The solar panel also enables her to charge her mobile phone and to keep in contact with the local clinic regarding Matthew’s health.
We also met Oscar Kiprotich, who is thirty four years old and has suffered from multiple sclerosis for fifteen years. Oscar, who is wheel chair bound, lives with his mother and twelve year old niece Florence. The solar lamp allows Oscar to read in his bed in the evenings. It also enables him to assist Florence with her homework when she returns from school.
In the context of a world facing the threat of climate change, this is a small but significant way of positively impacting people’s lives, in a way that is viable and sustainable and provides an example for all of us – in our fossil fuel addicted society.
Joe Murray
Afri Coordinator
Donate now online using our secure iDonate service: https://www.afri.ie/donate/
Solar Lights Campaign 2017
Let there be (Solar) Light…
Give a gift of light to a Kenyan family this Christmas…Children and families who do not have electricity will benefit from your gift …
Your Solar light gift will:
Improve health…by avoiding use of toxic kerosene;
Reduce poverty…by reducing cost of energy;
Increase income…by enabling people who do not have electricity to work after darkness;
Reduce global warming…by replacing use of fossil fuels;
Contribute towards Afri’s climate justice work;
Support Afri’s partnerships with Development Pamoja and the Kenya Pastoralist Journalist Network.
€15 …buys one solar light for a family
€30 …buys one solar light for a midwife and one for a family
€60 …buys four solar lights which will benefit midwives, families, schoolchildren and the wider community. Families can use solar lights to enable them to work after dark, to supplement their income and to enable children to study in the evenings.
When you buy your light(s) we will send you a gift card which you can retain or pass on to your chosen recipient.
Will you give a gift that brings light and hope this Christmas?
All the money raised from Afri’s 2016 campaign went to purchase over one hundred solar lights in Northern Kenya and Mogotio on the Equator, north of Nakuru.
Let’s show that after all there IS something new under the sun….
How to purchase your gift:
You can buy your gift in the following ways – you can pay online using our i-donate system – http://www.afri.ie/donate/
Alternatively, post a cheque/postal order made payable to “Afri” to 134 Phibsborough Road, Dublin 7.
If you would prefer to pay by bank transfer please phone us for details.
In order to post out your gift card please include your name and address when you are buying your gift.