One of our chosen charities, the Disasters Emergency Committee is responding to April’s devastasting earthquakes in Nepal. One of their member agencies, Concern, has an amazing innovation they’re using to help people rebuild in Nepal.
After the earthquake, Nepal was not unlike an assault course – frayed electrical cables laid over broken pathways and the electrical supply in cities regularly disrupted. In rural areas that they have been distributing aid to, that supply barely existed.
“Even before the shocks, the people of Nepal were subject to severe load shedding (rolling electrical blackouts that can keep parts of the country in the dark for up to 16 hours a day). In remote, rural communities lack of electrical light is often offset by the use of toxic kerosene lamps and dangerous homemade back-up generators.
To further stretch an already-struggling system, the Nepal Electricity Authority reportedly suffered millions of dollars of damage to its infrastructure. The reconstruction project could take months, even years.”
– Concern
With this in mind, Concern have made LED solar lights part of their emergency aid packages to enable people to have a reliable and safe light source.
Their chosen device is a low cost ‘Solar Muscle’ – a compact, robust device with a three year lifespan. After recharging during the day, it stores enough energy for roughly 12 hours of light. The lights can also connect up, providing more than enough brightness for an entire household.
In areas where literacy is low, every extra hour of light that children can spend on homework is essential for their education and development. Solar energy is fast becoming a great innovation in humanitarian aid.
Nepal’s skilled artisans help supply our brands with the beautiful clothing and accessories you buy – please help us support the DEC and its member agencies rebuild, by adding a donation in our checkout. Last year, our wonderful customers raised over £18,000 for our chosen charities. Thank you for your continued support and generosity.
You can learn more about Concern’s solar technology and find out more about the DEC’s Nepal appeal