Lee Valley Outlook April 2009

Solar Panels are handed over to McEgan Students

Self Help for Kenya
McEgan College students, Maria Kalavska and John Thompson, and teacher, Maureen McAdam, went to Kenya with Self Help on April 6th and hope to visit locations there during their stay. Before their departure, Maresa Gieles of Solaris Macroom presented them with solar lanterns which her company has kindly donated to Self Help Africa. Solaris have been established for the past 12 years providing solar panels as alternatives to Fossil Fuel Water heating systems.

They have formed a Foundation “Solar without Frontiers” and hope to get funding to provide Solar powered lighting systems to homes in Africa who at present are reliant on Kerosene lanterns for lighting their homes after dark. The McEgan college contingent hopes to pilot these lanterns in schools and community centres in rural Kenya and will monitor their usefulness over the next six months. If the trials are successful, then it is hoped to expand their availability, for a small cost, to family homes. The sale of these items will be financed by micro credit from co-ops in the areas which are supported by Self Help Africa. It is then hoped that the money generated would allow larger systems to be purchased for the community to power refrigeration units for health centres and water pumps systems. Solar Power is the cleanest power source and can be harnessed in African countries using photo Voltaic panels which convert the light from the sun to electrical energy.

While in Kenya the group will be visiting Baraka Agricultural College. Here SelfHelp Africa assists in the training of Farmers in growing better yielding crops and more cash crops, also in Beekeeping. They hope to meet up with John’s grandaunt, Sr Mary Denise Kearney (formerly Eli Kearney ) of Millstreet. Sr. Mary Denise is Principal of the Local Baraka Primary School.

McEgan college is already twinned with a school in Ethiopia and hopes to further this by setting up a twinning with Baraka Primary School while in Kenya. McEgan College Self Help Africa would like to thank all the people of Macroom & district who, in spite of the recession, donated so generously to this worthy cause.

Picture: Maresa Gieles of Solaris Macroom handing over some of the solar lanterns donated to Self Help Africa. The McEgan College students Maria Kalavska and John Thompson with teacher Maureen McAdam spent Easter in Kenya with Self Help