Hope for Energy

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Around 600 millions of people across Africa live without reliable access to electricity! (IRENA, 2015)

Africa has an enormous potential of Renewable Energy Sources but nevertheless extreme energy poverty pushes large parts of Africa into deepest neediness, under-development, tremendous environmental damage, social deprivation, disease, and, as a result, into political and social instability.

Sustainable solutions need to come quickly since climate change could make major parts of Africa inhabitable. As a short-term measure, we support African countries by providing decentralised

  • Solar Kits for lighting simple houses and huts, and for powering small electrical equipment;
  • bigger Solar Kits for powering larger appliances, communications and other equipment;
  • Solar Home Systems. The benefits which these systems offer are manifold and range from food and medicine cooling, desalination and sterilisation of water to operating medical devices, and so on …

Solar Kits and Solar Home Systems replace the dangerous widespread use of kerosene lamps and candles in dwellings that heavily contribute to indoor pollution with 600 000 deaths only in 2012 (WHO, 2015). Moreover, the use of renewable energy is turning the traditional African way of life upside down resulting in a wider scope for social life and the learning of children in full light even during the evening hours.

Among many others, the El Kadadba Monastery in Egypt can be taken as an example for the use of renewable energy in their desert reclamation project, for which African Hope received generous donations:

  • Firstly, a solar powered irrigation system was developed besides an electricity system generating power from renewable energy sources;
  • then, vegetable cultivation and livestock farming was implemented,
  • leading finally to the inclusion of milk and cheese production, which in turn creates jobs for over 120 people
  • as well as vocational training facilities in electrical and water installation, maintenance of technical machines but also in fruit and grain processing and storage.