I recently shared with you the wonderful welcome we received in the village of Kanuma in my post On the Trail of the mythical Kumpo of Kanuma. This was a great experience for all of us, a real treat, but the main reason we visited this remote West African village was not for the Kumpo, it was to see first hand the recently installed solar-powered lights and to meet the people these lights were benefiting.
In The Gambia the electricity network does not, as yet, go very far inland. The sun rises at around 7am and sets about 7pm throughout the year, so people often have to work or study by candlelight. Not only is this a fire risk but it causes eye strain and can cause respiratory problems.
The mud brick homes, with corrugated iron roofs, in Kanuma
But there is a movement, not only in The Gambia but also in nearby Guinea-Bissau, that is spreading village by village, solar-powered light by light, that has recently reached Kanuma.
Solar-powered torch charging in the sunlight
The Gambia Experience (the sponsors of this trip) have been providing holidays to The Gambia for 25 years and to celebrate they gave away £25,000 worth of flight seats and £25,000 in donations, to charitable organisations working in The Gambia. The ComAfrique InteliZon Initiative (CII for short) received funds to light up the village of Kanuma which, by coincidence, is the 25th village in The Gambia to benefit from this scheme.
As with all ‘Light up a village’ projects, rather than simply giving the villagers the solar-powered torches every household using a solar-powered light pays a small fee each day which is far less than the cost of the candles that they were previously using. The money raised will be used to buy new lights for the homes in the village that have not yet received them and to replace the original lamps when they eventually stop working, ensuring the sustainability of the project. The remaining funds will be used to aid the village in whatever way their committee chooses.
The village Alkalo (head man) shows of a solar panel
“The Gambia Experience took us from the darkness and brought us to the light,” Mrs. Mariama Manga
I would like to thank the people of Kanuma for the wonderful, warm welcome we received in their village. I am sure this will be a day that none of us will ever forget.
The CII are asking companies to sponsor a village as part of their Corporate Social Responsibility so if you work for a company that you think might like to sponsor a village or if you would like to sponsor, as an individual, one of the additional lights needed in Kanuma you can get in touch with me at [email protected] to find out more.
For a more in depth look at how this initiative started and how it is run, read Tom’s excellent post on the Bald Hiker.
More about community projects helping the people of The Gambia coming soon.
Disclosure: Although I have worked for The Gambia Experience, the sponsor of this trip, since 2005, I will always give you a completely honest opinion throughout my #BlogGambia posts, just as I would any other sponsored trip or review. My only bias, which I hope you will forgive me for, stems from my having fallen in love with The Gambia many years ago.
Join my 'Behind the Scenes' newsletter
Delivered monthly to your inbox with all my behind the scenes news, latest posts and giveaways exclusive to my subscribers.
This is a nice help to Africans to provide them solar lights. Now they can take benefit of Solar power.
Such a small act of kindness from 1st world countries make a huge impact on 3rd world countries. Fantastic read!
Thanks Keith. Just enjoyed reading your artilce about homes made out of shipping containers. Great idea!
Hi Kathryn, what a great initiative. It’s good that the villages who received solar powered lights also help others received lights. I’m sure this make the receiving and giving more meaningful for them.
The solar power is so small! Didn’t realize that they make it so compact now.
Love your photos of the beautiful people.
Yes, it is a great project that is really helping people.
Glad you like the photos – lovely people.
Ok, have to ask: why should I not flash the peace sign with my palm facing towards me in the UK? What does that mean? I know, not exactly focusing on the core subject matter but nonetheless that one tidbit did strike me as interesting 🙂
Otherwise it’s always great to hear about uplifting and sustainable programs such as this. These are the types of things I’d like to do when I visit Africa, not go big game hunting or some of that other touristy stuff. It’s great to help out and in exchange you are rewarded with a positive, memorable experience…win-win!
Well it means (excuse me) ‘F— off!’ here in the UK! I only found out fairly recently that it doesn’t mean that in some other countries.
We certainly felt liked we’d won that day. A fantastic start to #blogGambia
It’s a great collection of photos Kat. My first one would be those two Black brothers, one looks so frightened and the other one is partly smiling. Amazing photo, showing the emotions.
Thanks Agness. They were lovely people to photograph.
Your Gambia pictures really capture the joy, colour and culture of the people and place..
Thank you Carol. That’s lovely of you to say so. It may be one of the poorest countries I’ve been to but they have the biggest smiles.
Hi Kat,
Just to say I love the top photo, really ace 🙂
Cheers, Poul
Thank you Poul. The people of Kanuma were a delight to photograph.
It’s easy to see there was a good connection with you and the people of Kanuma, how long were you there?
Just a few hours but a very memorable few hours! 🙂
A wonderful initiative.
The ComAfrique InteliZon Initiative is doing a great job!!
Kathryn..nice pictures and well written. Thanks. Your readers could learn more about our initiative at http://www.cii.gm or on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/ciinitiative or could mail us too at [email protected]. We thank you and everyone at The Gambia Experience for sponsoring the village of Kanuma ( our 25th village in The Gambia). Thank you and your team of bloggers for taking time to understand how our initiative works and benefits rural economies.
Ram
It’s us that should be thanking you for the wonderful work you are doing not just in The Gambia but also in Guinea-Bissau.