Gorilla

The equipment was checked over thoroughly by our resident Solar Sister

Hi, this is Tuver,

So, after months of planning, fundraising and worries, it’s finally happened. Our incredible Solar Sisters have brought electricity to their home villages!

If you’ve been following this remarkable story, then you’ll know that just a few weeks ago, we got a special delivery of high-tech equipment for the Solar Sisters – a special team of ladies who recently spent six months at the Barefoot College in India learning how to become solar power engineers. And you’ll also know that both myself and my colleagues had a stressful time taking delivery of the equipment and getting it released from the customs people here in Goma.

But was all this trouble worth it? You bet it was! The excitement that the arrival of the equipment into the village of Rusayo caused is something that I’ll never forget. Fortunately, as you can see from these pictures, our resident Solar Sister in this village kept a cool head and got to work almost right away, checking the components and getting the panels fitted to the selected homes.

Now, I know I’ve said it before, but it’s worth repeating; this will make a massive difference to many people’s lives. For example, now that they can switch on an electric light, children here in Rusayo will be able to study after it’s gone dark, and their parents will be able to work past dusk, too, giving them more opportunity to raise money. And let’s not forget that, since they’ll have a reliable source of power for the first time ever, the villagers here will be much less reliant on the resources of the neighbouring national park, which is great news for the gorillas living there!

So, here are a few more pictures I took on that special day in Rusayo village. I’ll be sure to keep you updated on the difference the electricity is making here…

The men of the village help unload the heavy solar power equipment from the trucks

And then the ladies get to work installing the solar panels!