Energy for Opportunity

Kamakwie Secondary School…now with solar power

Simon Willans — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 02:49:28 +0000

It was a very, very tough week but it all came together and the Kamakwie Secondary School is now the proud owner of completely new wiring and more importantly a top of the line, 1530W solar electricity system! We had a tough first day as we ended up running around town picking up all the materials and got a very late start, resulting in the second vehicle not reaching until 11:30pm, with two fixed flat tires to its name. Despite that we started both the Community Centre and the School at 8am the next day and slowly hit our stride. We had four of the new crop of students with us, two from GTI and two from the NPA training centre, so it was a great opportunity to combine our programmes and get the students some first hand field work. It was great to see them improving as the week went along and really making a significant contribution to the work. We were also fortunate enough to get strong support from the school and the community. They provided us with accommodation and lunchtime food and a big group of students came out to help do the major digging and other not so glamorous but necessary tasks to get things done. In addition to the school project we managed to get the wiring done at the Community Centre and Hospital and will return in March or April to put in the solar power systems there. These are big projects and are covering the vital communal sites in the town and will hopefully bring substantial improvements to the community. It was a great experience being part of this tough installation and we look forward to getting back up to Kamakwie in the near future.

With this wrapped up our attention shifts to the Community Charging Stations with the first of those slated for a Monday start. Updates to follow…

Community Charging Station…coming soon!

Simon Willans — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 10:40:36 +0000

After months of planning, meeting, planning and some more planning, Energy For Opportunity will be opening its first Community Charging Station at Kamabai. The system will be located next to the Main Market, providing a central point for people to charge lights, phones, etc and also providing light to the market and the surrounding open area. The CCS will be operated and managed by the community, with all profit being reinvested in future solar projects, with the Secondary School as the first target. Solar powered lights will also be made available to community members either by rental, rent to own or purchase. These lights provide a clean alternative to kerosene and candles, at a reduced cost to the household. ENFO will remain strongly involved in the project, providing training, ongoing management support and maintenance to ensure that the CCS grows and the benefits of solar power expand. A special thanks to those who donated to this project and the organisation in general over the last two months, without that support it wouldn’t have been possible.

Kamakwie Bound

Simon Willans — Sat, 06 Feb 2010 20:16:22 +0000

On February 15th, Energy For Opportunity will be heading back up to Kamakwie to work on an installation at the Kamakwie Secondary School. We are playing a supporting role in the project which has been driven by the dedicated efforts of Leslie McKeon, a former Peace Corp volunteer in Sierra Leone. Additional support has come from Friends Of Sierra Leone (www.fosalone.org) who provided much needed financial assistance and Nameste Solar (http://www.namastesolar.com/index.htm) who donated the panels for the project.

We are really excited to be part of this project as it supports our efforts to help bring lighting and other power needs to the Secondary Schools in Bombali District. It also gives four of our current students from Government Technical Institute and the National Power Authority Training Centre a chance to get out and gain practical field experience and see a different part of the country.

Please keep checking back for other updates as we move into a very busy February and March!

EFO Radio Interview

Paul Munro — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 19:21:41 +0000

Listen to EFO’s director Simon Willans talking about our work on the CJAM 99.1 radio show : “Make this your Canada” hosted by Kieran McKenzie.

Funding Update…website donations

Simon Willans — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 18:34:18 +0000

EFO would like to thank everyone who has donated to support our upcoming project! Through this generous support we have already received over $600 and are well on our way to our $3000 target. Over the holiday we continued to plan with the communities and will be starting work as soon as the primary funding from our donor is received. Thanks to all and please check back for updates on this project and more.

Update and new project

Paul Munro — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 15:12:53 +0000

It has been a busy couple of months, so we have put together a two page update to inform everyone of EFO’s recent goings on. Click here to view the update.

Also we have a new project planned for next month, installing community solar charging stations in the Sierra Leonean districts of Bombali and Bonthe. Christian Aid is kindly supplying the bulk of funding for this project, but we still need around US$3000 to make the project fully viable. Read more about the project here and if you can make a donation to help bring solar power to Sierra Leonean communities.

80016 8551?!

Simon Willans — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 21:33:57 +0000

What is this you ask…just the sweetest numbers ever to be heard by Energy For Opportunity! After almost 18 months and numerous exchanges with Revenue Canada, Energy For Opportunity is officially a Registered Canadian Charity. In addition to a whole binder of additional paperwork, it also means we are now officially recognised by the Canadian government and with this we gain a much more legitimate profile both domestically and internationally. It also means we have the ability to issue tax receipts for any donations to our work, opening up huge areas of fundraising opportunities.

Kamabai – Planning…the not as exciting side of work

Simon Willans — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 08:56:04 +0000

Fresh off our work in Kamakwie we made a quick side trip to Kamabai to do some overdue planning work. Kamabai and Kamakwie are likely to be our main two hubs of activity, as they are two of the largest Chiefdom Headquarter towns in Bombali District and home to two of the three Senior Secondary Schools in the District outside Makeni. This was our first time in Kamabai, despite passing the village tens of times on the way to or from Kabala.

We were escorted to Kamabai by and old friend and work colleague from Lakka, Foday Presto Koroma who was born and raised in the village. His brother and his family gave us a place to stay, fed us and supplied us with the (soon to be) world famous Kamabai poyo. The next day we met with the acting Chief, PC Modi Brima, and other local stakeholders and elders. As always, we were given a warm welcome and quickly made to feel at home in the community. After our meeting we spent hours touring the community and surveying all of the major community structures that were identified as priority areas for electricity. This included the Secondary School, health centre, court barri, market and three primary schools. It was an exhausting day but a very, very productive one and hopefully the start of a successful partnership between EFO and the people of Biriwa Chiefdom.

To see some photos of the site visits go to our facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=60927992298

Kamakwie ctd…

Simon Willans — Sun, 13 Dec 2009 11:22:47 +0000

While up in Kamakwie for the Orphanage work, Energy For Opportunity staff managed to pay a quick visit to another upcoming project site. This project will be at the Wesleyan Secondary School and is being funded through the hard work and dedicated fund raising efforts of Leslie McKeon, a former Peace Corp volunteer who was located in Kamakwie. We have been working on the system design with Leslie for over a year but this was the first time we had actually been to the site.

The school serves as both a Junior and Senior Secondary school and operates on a shift basis, with JSS in the morning and SSS in the afternoon. There are over 1150 students and the school is also the regional testing site for all three of the standardised tests that are part of the Sierra Leone school system. We received a very open welcome from the two Principals, Mr. Brima Conteh and Mr. Martin S. Kamara and they provided excellent input into the priority areas for the school and how best to secure the system.

The final planning is still underway but if all goes well we should be back up in Kamakwie in mid-February for this project. It is definitely going to have an immediate impact for the students and there are plans being developed on how the system can serve the greater community.

Project #2 : Kamakwie Orphanage

Simon Willans — Sun, 13 Dec 2009 10:13:57 +0000

Energy For Opportunity wrapped up our second project last week, installing a solar electricity system at an orphanage in Kamakwie, up in Northern Sierra Leone. Although the implementation was often a bit tricky it was one of those great projects to be part of, as in the end the orphanage has light and power for their new computer lab and cinema! The facebook link (http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=187368048769&ref=mf/) has a few pictures of the site and links to the two organisations funding and managing the project. There are plans to expand the system over the next year or two, so it will be great to track the progress and growth of the project.