One of the greatest contributors to poverty in Malawi is lack of access to clean energy or a constant source of electricity. Without a reliable energy source, children have less time to study in the evening, staff are exposed to respiratory health issues, there is limited productivity for staff, increased safety issues at night and children are not able to compete globally without access to technology. Deforestation and generating dirty fuels also have negative implications resulting in energy poverty. The impact of inflation and other global supply shortages has also escalated a significant increase in energy cost for dirty fuel that is typically used in diesel generators.
Working with Children of the Nations (COTN) in Malawi, and World Light Africa (WLF) the project will address the COTN Malawi Njewa campus which houses 35 administrative staff and 200 students in secondary school. The Njewa campus requires a reliable energy source for administration, school operations, computer lab, general lighting, cooking, refrigeration, hot water and other needs. Daily rolling blackouts (of about 5 hours per day) are reducing effective campus activities. The main objective of this project is to fund Phase 2. Phase 1 -(Installed Dec 2022) WLA Centralized power system with battery capacity to cover daily blackouts, including daily monitoring for analysis and proactive maintenance. Phase 2 - Installation of a complete solar array to power the secondary school and all building on the lover campus that removes any dependance on local power grid.
Project timeline: Fundraising, 6-12 months, Manufacturing (when 80% funded), 6 months, Shipping to Malawi, 2-3 months, Installation and Training, 4-6 weeks.
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