Solarcentury announces continued charity support
UK based Solarcentury has announced a donation over £35,000 to SolarAid's "˜Share a light' campaign. Continuing its commitment to SolarAid, the charity founded by Solarcentury to tackle poverty and climate change with solar power, this donation comes as five per cent of its annual profit for 2011/2012. The "˜Share a light' campaign, which aims to eradicate kerosene from Africa by 2020, will use the £35,118 donation to subsidise the cost of more than 5,850 solar lamps across Africa.
Kerosene is a bigger killer in Africa than Malaria. By raising money to provide rural African households with subsidised solar lamps, the campaign reduces the poverty, health and educational problems that are created by the widespread reliance on kerosene among African communities.
Each solar light that is subsidised by the "˜Share a light' campaign costs just £6, as opposed to a full cost of £12, which covers the cost of transporting the lights to the areas of need, and provides a more affordable, clean and healthy alternative to burning kerosene. They are sold through social enterprise "˜Sunny Money', which trains locals in business skills.
Steve Andrews, CEO of SolarAid, said: "When a company like Solarcentury makes this type of donation to SolarAid, they help to abolish the crippling dependence many African households have on kerosene. As well helping directly reduce poverty levels, these donations also provide substantial health and educational benefits to impoverished families. We are incredibly grateful for Solarcentury's generosity, as well as their vision and on-going commitment to a kerosene free future."
Solarcentury founded SolarAid in 2006 to bring its organisational mission of addressing the threat of climate change to the developing world. Since then, the charity has raised nearly £10,000,000 for its work with households and schools in Kenya, Tanzania, Zambia and Malawi. It has sold over 170,000 solar lights since 2007, 80,000 of which have been sold in the past six months.
Frans van den Heuvel, CEO, Solarcentury said: "Solar PV has a crucial role to play in the developing world where countless communities are paralysed by fuel poverty. SolarAid's "˜Share a Light' campaign is making literally a life changing difference to these communities. As a company, we believe whole-heartedly in the SolarAid vision and hope that our donation helps to inspire other solar companies to get behind the cause."
