Business
Profile: Evans Wadongo
“I immediately knew the impact that it would have on the rural communities,” he said. An artisan helped him design the solar lantern, which Wadongo calls MwangaBora, Swahili for “good light.”
To help get the project started, Wadongo’s family and friends subsidized his student loans for two years. Production of the lanterns was slow until Wadongo attended a leadership training program sponsored by the nonprofit Sustainable Development for All-Kenya.
When the group heard about his MwangaBora, it immediately committed to help, eventually bringing Wadongo on as a partner and chairman of the board.
The group has helped reduce production costs to $20 per lantern. Costs are covered by donations. Volunteers help build the lanterns and work with local government and women’s groups to determine the communities most in need. The group sets a small percentage of the cost of each lamp to go toward the volunteers.
“We are helping them to earn a living. They are now able to sustain their families,” he said.
Wadongo works on the lantern project full time without pay and eats only one meal a day to help save money and build more lanterns. He said he expects costs to decrease further as the program grows.
The group buys excess pieces of solar paneling, cut from commercially sold panels, in bulk from an overseas company. In an outdoor metal shop, Wadongo and volunteers hammer scrap metal for the frame of the lantern.
Wadongo estimates he’s distributed 10,000 lanterns, and he has no plans for slowing down.
“I want to reach out to as many rural communities as possible,” he said. “The impact is saving lives.”
Children can now study. Households can buy food with the money they save on kerosene, reducing hunger in communities. The solar lanterns help reduce carbon emissions, too. Wadongo said that when the time and need arises, he intends to service, replace and recycle his lanterns.
For villagers, life will change dramatically thanks to Wadongo and his solar lantern.
For Wadongo, the satisfaction comes in knowing that he’s helping to lift people out of poverty.
“I just feel like it’s right,” he said.
Source: CNN
