Tuesday, December 6, 2011

 

India orphanage gets relief from frequent power outages and high electricity bills


Empowered! Around this time last year we announced a new initiative to bring solar power to our orphanages. We started this process with the addition of small solar arrays at our India and Chad project sites. Nathan Adair, a regular reader of the Peace Gospel blog, was intrigued by the story and wanted to help. So he started doing his own research as part of his MBA, to help us ascertain the best way to expand our solar-power system at our India campus. He started a blog and began to help with an effort to raise the funds needed for the project. 

Several months later we're happy to report that the funds have been raised for the expanded solar solution, and one of the two solar arrays purchased has now been installed. It's working wonders in bringing relief from frequent power outages, not to mention resulting in a significant decrease in our electricity bill. 


The second array will be installed on the new school building roof as soon as that building project is fully funded and completed. We're currently seeking donations to help with the completion of that project, which lacks only 15% of the total goal [help us reach our goal]. Once completed, the entire campus will be solar-powered for much of the day. 

In addition to savings, this solar solution will power a charging station for special long-lasting, energy-efficient lamps which will be rented out to villagers in the nearby community. Throughout the year electricity can be very scarce in this region, and many have no electrical connections whatsoever. Thus we believe there will be great demand for our lanterns. This small business will further enhance our sustainability goals as well, through the income it will generate for the orphanage.  

The solar solution rounds out a long list of projects designed to bring empowerment and sustainability to our India programs. Included in this list is our 12-acre farmland enterprise with its 240-tree orange orchard, a small dairy farm, a lentil harvest, and a productive vegetable and fruit-tree garden at the orphanage campus. These agricultural ventures provide funding for our programs while also helping to keep our orphanage pantry well-stocked. 

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