Partner:
Reverend Robert Pierce founded World Vision in 1950 as an organization dedicated to helping the world’s children. World Vision currently operate in Asia, Latin America, Africa, the Middle East and Eastern Europe, working in areas of child protection, disaster relief, water and sanitation, economic development, education, food and agriculture and health.
World Vision aims to contribute to the global reduction of under-five and maternal mortality, by improving the health and nutrition of women and children.
As part of their health program World Vision is committed to supporting 100,000 Community Health Workers (CHWs) across the world. The CHWs provide basic health care and education in their communities and assist patients to their nearest health center or hospital. CHWs with specialized training are also able to deliver babies and carry out basic medical procedures. World Vision works with CHWs to help improve the health of women and children in Rwanda, particularly in rural areas.
Challenge:
In many rural areas in Rwanda lack of access to electricity is a big problem. As well as directly affecting the community it affects the running hospitals, health centers and day-to-day work of CHWs.
CHWs play an important role in Rwanda by ensuring the health of their community and acting as the first line of public health defense. One of the biggest challenges for CHWs is lighting and phone charging in their homes and at the work place. Without lighting CHWs are forced to carry out vital medical practices in the dark. CHWs should be able respond to the needs of the community, but if their phones are not charged they are unable to receive messages/emergency phone calls from the community. There is also a system whereby the community health workers collect data on public health and nutrition, which is then sent to a government database via an SMS service. The data collected allows the government to monitor patterns in nutrition and detect outbreaks of diseases and epidemics. For this system to work effectively the CHWs need to have their phones charged at all times.
Solution:
GLE works closely with World Vision to help provide CHWs with clean and reliable energy solutions. We supply World Vision with Sun King™ Pro solar lamps, who in turn distribute the lamps to CHWs in Rwanda. The Sun King™ Pro solar lamps are an ideal solution to CHWs’ lighting and phone charging challenges, with 30 hours of light per charge and phone charging capabilities. They allow CHWs to work during the nights, charge mobile phones and provide a bright light for carrying out medical procedures and administering medicines.
GLE also provides training for CHWs on how to use and look after the lamps, to ensure proper usage and increase their lifetime.
Impact:
Supply of the solar lamps to CHWs contributes to the health of the community as well as the protection of the environment. They empower the CHWs who are no longer restricted to generators, kerosene lamps or phone charging services, but are able to generate light and charge their phones from a free energy source. Having a fully charged phone means there is a much more effective data collection service and the CHWs are able to respond to the needs of the community as soon as they are contacted.
Clementine’s story:
For the second time this week Clementine’s mobile phone wakes her in the middle of the night. She has been expecting this call. She reaches for the phone, slides on her shoes and switches on her lamp. She is now fully awake and springs into action. She is a community health worker (CHW), and the health of her neighbors depends on her.
Until recently, Clementine was unable to keep her phone charged and rely on it due to a lack of electricity. Her frustrated neighbors struggled to reach her and frustration turned to desperation at the most critical of times. She could not simply switch on a light, candles were too dim for medical testing and injections, and kerosene fumes made her family ill. Her daily reports to the local health center by SMS were often delayed. Clementine’s life changed dramatically with the recent acquisition of the Sun King™ Pro solar lamp.
The Sun King™ Pro solar lamp provides Clementine with a reliable source of sustainable, bright light and the ability to charge a mobile phone. The number of people that she can now help has quadrupled. When she is away from her house, neighbors can simply call her. Gone are the days of telling sick neighbors to come back during daylight hours.
Clementine answers her phone and hears the cries of her pregnant neighbor. She is in labour and after her last complicated delivery, time is of the essence. Clementine rushes to escort her, lighting the path with her lamp and calling the clinic to warn them of their arrival. They arrive quickly and shortly thereafter a beautiful, healthy baby is born.
Technology profile:
For further information on Sun KingTM lamps please visit http://greenlightplanet.com/our-products
