A new NGO just launched into higher-gear with a gala presentation from Ken Livingston, Mayor of London, in London’s City Hall Reading Room. SolarAid seeks to help developing communities leapfrog through polluting energy toward a renewable (solar) energy future. It has real backing, including a commitment of five percent of solar century‘s profits. Its core objectives:
- To relieve poverty through facilitating the provision of solar energy to those in need.
- To advance the education of the public in matters relating to solar energy, climate change and the protection of the environment and to carry out and disseminate the results of research into all aspects of energy generation, distribution, supply and use.
SolarAId is dedicated to DIY projects, training local communities to build systems, and to small solar systems for community centers, clinics, and schools. Thery are focusing on the rural poor of sub-Saharan Africa, with a desire to work through (and with) NGOs with experience in the targeted communities. And, there is a focus on sustainability, developing local capacities through a microbusiness approach. And, they’ve promised a serious monitoring and evaluation system.
This looks to be an NGO with a mission worth support and a program worth watching.
Tip of the hat to Jeremy Williams.