For starters we were recognized once again for our multi-faceted Green operations model, first as a semi-finalist and honorable mention for Dr. Randall Pinkett’s Campus CEO Challenge thanks to an impromptu submission made by our Vice President and Co-Founder Nasir Uddin.
Nasir was also selected this month on behalf of em[POWER] as a winner for the2012 Henry P. Becton Volunteer Impact Awards through the generosity of Becton, Dickinson and Company. This award will grant em[POWER] $5,000 towards the goal of better implementing our sustainable model to improve the lives of millions affected by unacceptable conditions in landfill environments. We are happy to announce that Becton, Dickinson and Company plans to match donations from our fundraising initiatives! As if this was not enough to make our month, another generous organization will also be donating $10,000 to em[POWER] through Global Giving in the coming weeks. Nike has officially included us in their employee giving and volunteering program through Benevity.
We are honored and humbled for the recognition and resources that have been coming our way, yet most importantly we are further energized to build on this momentum towards future phases of our rigorous mission. Giving to em[POWER] will be even easier for donors, already having the option of GlobalGiving.com, and now with the added option GivingSomeThing.org.
Nasir attended the sixth-annual Clinton Global Initiative University meeting in St. Louis from April 5th to the 7th as a Waste Management Mentor representing em[POWER]. Where he formed many great partnership and relationship as well having the chance to talk and meet with Chelsea Clinton, Matthew Perry and many more ambassadors of well-known NGOs around the world. There were over 70 countries represented at this conference.
On the other side of the world, our project continues to grow. We will be sending out an update to everyone very soon. Here are some images of the site as it progresses: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.643181059040681.1073741827.263865670305557&type=3
Links:
Dear Friends, Donors, Advisors, Members, Interns and Consultants,
On behalf of em[POWER] Energy Group family, I would like to sincerely thank each and every one of you for your continued support. Every donation whether it is through volunteer services or monetary helps ensures that we can continue helping our community locally and internationally.
I know there are a lot of other ways you could have spent this time and money, but you believe in our cause, so you chose to invest it in our project. Because of this investment, I want you to feel like part of our team. We're in this together. I want our success to be your success.
Our projects are across the globe and until one project site is fully operational, we will be sending you regular reports about our work and asking for donations in both voluntary service and monetary form. You'll know what your donation has helped fund, what accomplishments we have achieved and what our current needs are.
In 2012, we have transformed our overall model for the organization. Domestic model went from cross-functional team to cross-functional NGOs under em[POWER] umbrella for each of our project sites. Project sites transformed from in-country em[POWER] organization to partnership-dependant implementation model. Our goal is merge CSR and donations for energy development through on-site partner in order to fund non-energy segments of different countries project sites. We are continually adding subsidiaries in the US while development in both energy and non-energy segments.
Summary of the work through support from Gram Bangla Unnayan Committee:
We have successfully ran the following:
- Researcher orientation sessions within the Landfill
- Training on health safety and hazards as well occupation safety hazard training
- Participatory dialogues with the 250 waste pickers of the landfill and 50 owners and 100 waste pickers of the waste collection vans
- Presented laptop to work and talk to students of the school
- Provided Gram Bangla with support for the school for 6 months provided by em[POWER] Rutgers Chapter
- Tube well system to give access to water to the community that does not have it
- Health Management team helped have a space for a doctor with patient area and medical equipments for one doctor
I hope you find this partnership valuable and worthwhile. I know the economy is tough, so thank you for investing your time and hard-earned money on our cause. Please consider telling your friends and family about our project - share the link on your blogs or social networks or just bring us up in conversation. You know your friends and family best so use your own words - tell them why you chose our project and what it means to you.
As we expand, we seek and need more help! We need more specialists, advisors, members, organizations, donors to continue to expand and implement in our project sites.
Thank you again for all you have done to help this cause.
With gratitude,
Nasir Uddin
VP, em[POWER] Energy Group
Links:
Phase III Pilot Program Proposal and Business Plan in Action
em[POWER]’s Project Bangladesh has steadily evolved since its registration as a nonprofit organization in April 2011. Project Bangladesh aims to utilize waste as a renewable resource to improve the livelihood of waste pickers in the Matuail Landfill of Dhaka. After creating and testing prototypes, Project Bangladesh entered into the Phase III implementation of the em[POWER]model in February of 2012.
em[POWER]’s Phase III pilot program will include developing and executing a household waste management system to prevent waste pickers from continuing to endanger themselves by burning off the organic waste. The burning off of the organic waste allowed them to sort out the inorganic materials which were sold for profit. Instead, pre-sorting the waste will improve the health of waste pickers while still allowing them to collect the inorganic materials.During Phase III, a sanitary sorting facility will be constructed outside the premise of the landfill.This facility will be used to properly and safely sort the waste, which will then be transported to the composting station and then transferred for anaerobic digestion. Composting stations will support local agricultural efforts while the digestion system will generate biogas which can be used to generate electricity for local facilities. Meanwhile vocational training will take place at a community center that will be constructed next to the sorting facility. This community center will host a number of facilities including onsite eco-toilets and potable water supplies.
The phrase ‘one man’s trash is another man’s treasure’ implies, what we call ‘waste’ actually tends to hold great value when utilized properly. The first step towards collecting this lost wealth in Matuail is to work with local NGO’s as we teach the community how to separate out the organic waste and turn it into compost that can be sold or used for local agriculture. The process will be continuously scaled-up until we can install a small-scale bio-digester to produce methane fuel, thus powering a generator and electrical infrastructure for the community. Waste Stream AnalysisUltimately, we are driven by community development. We are conducting surveys to help us accurately and comprehensively identify Matuail’s greatest needs and priorities.The generated electricity will allow the school to expand its capacity to include more students, provide vocational training to adults, and power computers. In the meantime, we are running fundraisers to raise much-needed supplies for its students. Electricity can also be used by local health clinics to improve their services and preserve temperature sensitive medications or by community members to develop micro-enterprise s that will give them the tools, opportunities, and confidence that they need to participate and succeed in society.
Our project continues to develop on ground: - close to 100% of your money goes to implementation on project site!
We have a larger land space for Project Bangladesh: 3200 sq ft. See attached.
We have new recruits within our Executive Board: http://empowerenergygroup.org/about-us/people/
- 3 New members within the R&D Team
- Director of Advisory Board
- Director of University Relations
* We are search for more board members as we expand and grow. Please e-mail HR@empowerenergygroup.org if you or anyone else is interested in what em[POWER] is doing.
Formalized partnerships with many more organizations! Please stay tuned!
- GREEN partnership will allow for orientation and training for our Board members and interns globally.
- In-house pro-bono council to support em[POWER] domestically and internationally.
---> much much more
Our intern program recruits many members from all across USA and World! If you or anyone else have any skills that would be helpful for our organization, please send an email to HR@empowerenergygroup.org.
Our Project Pakistan is being ravamped!! Stay tuned!
Phase III Pilot Program
em[POWER] Energy Group, Inc.
Proposal and Business Plan
in Action
From the first stages of registering em*POWER+ as an NGO in Bangladesh to proposing methods of waste renewable resourcing to improve the livelihood of waste pickers currently working in Matuail Landfill, to implementing Phase III of the empower model. Technical and process solution prototypes were created and tested to help in-sure its efficiency to help improve the Matuail community lifestyles. The successful prototypes were replicated and presently in the stage of being executed during our Phase III pilot program to help test and insure its effectiveness in the Dhaka, Bangladesh which began March 2012.
Em*POWER+’s Phase III pilot program will include developing and enforcing a house hold waste management system program to prevent further burning of organic waste which initially was a harmful solution for waste pickers to sort out inorganic material which were sold for profit. Instead pre sorted waste will improve the health of waste pickers while attaining inorganic material for profit. During Phase III, constructing a sanitary sorting facility, which will be located outside of the landfill. The sorting facility will help insure the waste remains sorted and will be transported to the designated stations: composting and biodigestor. Composting stations will support agriculture without manipulating local soil properties. The biogidestor will help generate electricity for local facilities. While vocational training will take place with in the community center which will be constructed next to the sorting facility. The community center will hold a host of facilities such as on-site eco-toilets and portable water supplies.
Site Scouting Continues...
Em*POWER+’s primary concern is to connect with near by landowners to build relationships and partnerships which will allow further development of em*POWER+’s model of Phase III and if successful to venture out and execute Phase IV . Phase IV will expand on the pilot program on a much larger scale, such as building on the current mechanism that is applied to the biodigestor to help generate electricity to households throughout the landfill.
Implementation Phase
Solar Bottle Bulb Installation
Our efforts to improve the current educational resources for the Project Bangladesh begins with our collaboration with Grambangla Unnayan Committee, which is a non-profit development organization working with the child scavengers of Matuail Sanitary Landfill since May 2009. The planning and research to help improve the physical infrastructure of the school with in the Matuail Landfill is in progress. The onsite Project Manager for Project Bangladesh, Sejan Bari, helped oversea the installation of solar bottle bulbs to improve the lighting inside of the school on February 11, 2012. Students are now able continue with their activities inside of the school with ease. The final installation, which includes sealing the roof, took place on February 22, 2012. The overall cost of installing one solar bottle bulb unit, including the cost of labor result to a total of 2000TK which is about 25 USD. This cost efficient method made a difference to improve the educational resources that are being presented to the children of Matuail Landfill.
Building Compost Bin
Phase III of building the compost bin took place on February 24, 2012. This will help support further development of agriculture and the growth of a community garden near the landfill. The overall cost of constructing the compost bin was 4100Tk which is about 50 USD.
This prototype consists of two compartments, about 1 m3 each that will hold about one ton of kitchen waste. The waste will be procured from nearby waste carrying vans. Once it is gathered, it will be chopped, moistened and layered to ensure hot compost. Piles will be turned weekly for aeration. A pile made with a balance of fresh greens and bulking materials and turned weekly can be ready to use in three weeks. This process will be concurrently done with em*POWER+ US teams own prototype research. Data and findings will be shared between them and the local team.
What Is Your Ideal Home?
On February 12, 2012 the International team meets US team at Princeton University in efforts to collaborate information and ideas to help implement Project Bangladesh Phase III of the em*POWER+ model.
Interns, student chapter of Princeton and Rutgers University, SCS Engi-neers, Habitat For Humanities Rep, Yolo County Engineer, and the On Site Bangladesh Team were all working together to understand the current infrastructure of Matuail Landfill as well as the onsite School. The overall attendees were broken up in to groups to develop and discuss methods that would be applied to implement an efficient household waste management system, while examining the effects of community development, composting, biodigestor, and duckweed. In addition Legal findings such as current policies were presented by Neha Kapadia (Legal Intern) to allow better understanding of government procedures that would affect the execution phase of the Pilot Pro-gram.
Through Art They Share Their Stories Across the World
Links:
Project Reports on GlobalGiving are posted directly to globalgiving.org by Project Leaders as they are completed, generally every 3-4 months. To protect the integrity of these documents, GlobalGiving does not alter them; therefore you may find some language or formatting issues.
If you donate to this project or have donated to this project, you will get an e-mail when this project posts a report. You can also subscribe for reports via e-mail without donating or by subscribing to this project's RSS feed.
Highland Park,
NJ,
United States
http://empowerenergygroup.org/
Promote This Project On Your Site
Get Updates via Email
![Em[POWER] Project Bangladesh 2012 Review (PDF)](http://www.globalgiving.org/pfil/9204/emPOWER_Project_Bangladesh_Annual_Travel_Review_V2_Medium.jpg)
![em[POWER] Annual Report 2011-12 (PDF)](http://www.globalgiving.org/pfil/9204/empower_annual_report_2011_2012_Medium.jpg)
