Posts Tagged ‘solar lanterns’
Helping Bawjiase Orphanage
Thursday, February 11th, 2010
Earlier today energy4everyone returned to Bawjiase Orphanage and donated various cooking and lighting energy technology and started improving the orphanage’s access to modern energy. Importantly, all of the technologies donated were affordable and sustainable for the orphanage. In total, energy4everyone donated four energy efficient charcoal cook stoves, two solar lanterns and twenty crank-powered torches.
All of the staff and children at the orphanage were extremely thankful for the donation of equipment and were looking forward to using the equipment. In particular, they were very excited about having improved access to light and some of them busily set about turning levers to charge the torches. The prize: readily available light! Certainly, seeing the smiles on their faces was very satisfying and reiterated the value of our work and what energy4everyone is striving to achieve.
The donation of four efficient cook stoves for cooking enabled the orphanage to switch from using fire wood to charcoal. The efficient nature of the cook stoves, due to the ceramic liner, means that they retain heat far better than firewood stoves or traditional charcoal cook stoves. Consequently, the orphanage will be able to save money on its cooking energy costs. The orphanage estimates that the cost of a three week supply of firewood is approximately GHc 300 (Ghanaian Cede), which is approximately USD 200. This is in contrast to their estimate of approximately GHc 90 for a three week supply of charcoal; potentially, a huge saving. In addition, the efficient cook stoves produce little or no smoke and will therefore reduce the health risks to the people preparing the food.
The other area that energy4everyone was able to assist the orphanage was lighting. Very few of the buildings at the orphanage have lighting and there is no lighting in any of the twelve classrooms. As a result, the children cannot study in the evening, and walking around the orphanage grounds is dangerous because of snakes, which cannot be seen in the dark. By providing the two solar lanterns, the orphanage now has light in an outside communal area and the twenty crank-powered torches, which are charged by physically turning a lever, can be shared among the children when they walk from building to building.
Over the coming months we will monitor the effectiveness of the energy technology donated, as well as research and discuss the appropriateness of alternative energy technologies with the orphanage. This will ensure that energy4everyone continues to make best use of its physical efforts and financial resources, as it improves the lives of the children at Bawjiase Orphanage.
To view photographs of the orphanage and the energy technology donated to the orphanage, go to our Flickr pages at www.flickr.com/energy4everyone.
Tags: Bawjiase Orphanage, efficient cook stoves, energy, energy efficient charcoal cook stoves, energy4everyone, Ghana, solar, solar lanterns
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