By Michael H. Varhola | President, Solar Empowerment Initiative
So far this year we have sent four large boxes of solar lanterns to two poor villages in Senegal. The first village was Kaniko in the Commune of Bobali. It is located in the Casamance Region of Senegal south of the Gambia River. This is the poorest region in Senegal, being until recently, very difficult to reach from Senegal proper. These lanterns, along with a selection of useful gifts, will allow productive life to continue after the sun goes down. This includes, of course, the ability of children to continue with their studies. The distribution was made possible by Londoo Looloo, our partner in the Casamance, and which is based in Sedhiou.
The fourth box was delivered to Ngadiaga by Amad Ba, our hard working and faithful assistant, who is based in Dakar. Ngadiaga is only about 50 miles north of Dakar, but it might as well be on another planet. It is located in the littoral, a sandy area along the Atlantic coast. The villagers there scrape out a living in the barren soil growing vegetables for the market. There is little excess income for commodities such ast candles and kerosene. But now they will not only have light in the night, they will also have the ability to charge their cell phones, which provide them with the ability to send and receive money. Otherwise, they would be paying an enterpreneur in a village with electricity to charge their cell phones for them.
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