Gorilla

Hi, this is Tuver,

As many of you may know, back in November, we helped send a group of grandmothers from four villages in the eastern DRC to India to take part in a unique initiative to promote sustainable development and support gorilla conservation efforts in the Virungas National Park.

It gives me great pleasure to report that our six Solar Sisters have now returned home after learning the skills they need to become solar power engineers and sustainable energy ambassadors. Under the guidance of Bunker Roy, the manager at the Barefoot College, the ladies learned how to handle electronics components, make circuits and lanterns and to make, install and maintain solar units.

By putting their new skills into action, the ladies will be able to help lift their communities out of poverty and so ease the pressure on the gorillas’ forest home. Light will enable people to work or study after dark, while solar power will also bring further technological opportunities to the villages on the edge of the Virunga National Park.

As well as being greeted by their families and communities, the intrepid ladies have also been received by the governor of North Kivu province Julien Paluku Kahongya, and by the provincial minister of the environment, Chantal Rugenera. Given that they also had the chance to meet the Dali Lama while they were over in India, it seems the Solar Sisters are turning into local celebrities! Not bad for a group of grandmothers who had never left their villages before their life-changing trip to India!

Here are some photos of the ladies in India and being welcomed back to the DRC…..

The ladies learning all about electronic components

Taking a break from college to visit the Taj Mahal

The Solar Sisters greeting the Dali Lama when he visited the Barefoot College

The ladies being welcomed back to the DRC by the Governor of North Kivu province

I’ll be sure to keep you informed of the progress the ladies make as they put their new skills to work in their home villages!