By John Sahr Sahid | Sierra Leonian visitor to project
John Sahr Sahid is a Sierra Leonian who visited one of the projects managed by the Environmental Foundation for Africa. He said:
I arrived at exactly 13hrs GMT. I was Welcomed by Simon Willans programme Coordinator: Environmental Foundation for Africa(EFA) bear footed on the road that leads the EFA Country Headquaters at the Lakka Village.
The waves of the Atlantic Ocean splashing on the rocks and sands, sounds of birds , Coconut palm trees and Canoes of the fishermen; Lakka Village is among the best in Sierra Leone for its scenery, sand beaches and as such many tourist come there to swim, relax and enjoy the sunshine. Surrounded by peninsula mountains the main ethnic groups here are the Shebros of which most fishing is their occupation.
I was taken to the main compound of the EFA. On the grounds are fitted two rows of Solar panels that provide 90% of the electricity. With use of renewable energy becoming an important issue the Lakka project is no doubt a step in the right direction in a country still battling to provide sustainable energy to households.
The project has provide a battery charging center for Motorists and alike, making it cheaper and readily available with less stress. The Installation of street lamps on the main roads of the village has also brought relief for the community in terms of visibility at night. The few houses that have got the battery solar installations, most of the children are now having more study time and great improvement in performance at school. Fatigue due to kerosene lamp has changed, less eyes itching etc.
Installation of a twin solar panels at the village community hall has helped to make meetings. Religious gatherings can now be held late at night without the use of petrol generators with lots of noise.
Abdul M.Kamara is the first in the village community to have a complete set of the battery plus inverter to be fitted at his house.
He works for the EFA - "I am really about this solar project my children can study with good visibility, charging of my mobile phone is much easier, using of my radio and cassette player is much easier. At night my house is light making people to think I have a petrol generator with no noise."
My action will continue to advocate for more funding for such solar projects for smaller/remote communities. I want to see more use of renewable energy as a means of energy sustainability in Sierra Leone.
-John Sahr Sahid
GlobalGiving ask visitors: "What would you tell your friends about this project?" Sahr replied, "Great: They are making a difference!"
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 can receive an email when this project posts a report. You can also subscribe for reports without donating.
