The Malawi Solar Panel Fund

St. Martin's and

All Saints Churches

Ealing Common, London

The Parishes' Office, 25 Birch Grove

London W3 9SP

Tel. 020 8992 2333

www.malawiinwestlondon.org.uk

The Solar Panel Fund is a charitable fund run by two West London churches (St Martins, West Acton and All Saints, Ealing Common) and established under the Control of the PCC of St Martin's. The Fund has been established to enable the provision of solar technology to provide sustainable sources of electricity and hot water for communities in Malawi. Both Churches have long-standing links to the Anglican Diocese of Lake Malawi and have provided substantial help and support over many years, particularly during the recent famine.

Malawi is a desperately poor nation it is rated as the 10th most impoverished nation in the world by the UN. 85% of the population are employed in agriculture, most (90%) of these are subsistence farmers. The main crops grown for export are Tea, Coffee and Sugar.

As a consequence of our links with Malawi we have developed an understanding of the numerous challenges that people face in their day-to-day lives. One area of particular concern is the burning of wood; for cooking and to heat water. According to government sources Malawi has the highest rate of deforestation in the region, some 2.8% per year. Wood is very expensive and is transported great distances before being used. This makes no sense environmentally or economically and is potentially very harmful to health. It is estimated that over 1 million people die in Africa each year from illnesses related to smoke inhalation, this particularly impacts women and young children. Electrical power is not available to most of the population and where it is available it is very expensive.

The Challenges:

Cooking Malawi style.

One weekends wood supply!

Our Malawi project aims to address these issues for Schools, Hospitals and Churches throughout the Diocese.

Solar technology has moved forward substantially over recent years and is becoming more cost effective as the technology develops. One of the key requirements of any solution provided by the fund is that it must be maintainable by the local people who have been trained to support the equipment.

The Beneficiaries: Orphans in Chididi

Key to the success of any project of this nature is a strong and dependable local partner, in the Anglican Diocese of Lake Malawi we believe that we have just such a partner. The Diocese has experience in setting up and supporting local enterprises in addition it runs a hospital and several clinics. The Diocese is a trustworthy and well established organisation and we believe will provide us with all the local support and contacts that we need.

We aim to provide a rolling programme of projects that will address a range of communities and facilities over the next 3 years. Central to the delivery and ongoing success of the project will be the establishment of a local support organisation and the strong involvement of local stakeholders in each of the installations.

The 2004 visit

In 2004 a small team from the two London churches and a technical expert from the Lebanon visited Malawi to undertake a feasibility study in to the use of solar technology and to develop a fully priced programme of work for the delivery of the project. As a result of our visit we are now confident that we can deploy a workable solar solution, which will make a substantial impact on the lives of many thousands of people. We now are working on the detailed plans for delivery. As little as £500 can provide a solar panel to support lighting, run a refrigerator and a radio for a teacher or a priest. Lighting in a school will enable the classrooms to be used after dark (Sunset is around 6pm throughout the year), this will enable the provision of education to the adult population.

We are now relaunching our fundraising effort to meet our initial plans for the villages we visited last year we need over £250k. We aim to raise this money from a range of sources both in the UK and further afield. However we do not need to raise all of this money to make a start, £500 will provide a solar panel and start making a difference to people's lives. We will start using monies raised as soon as possible to make a difference as soon as possible.

Please donate to:

The Parishes' Office, 25 Birch Grove,

London W3 9SP

email: allsaintsstmartinsparishesoffice@btinternet.co

Download donation form

www.malawiinlestlondon.org.uk

* I would like to support the Solar Panel project and donate £......................... or

** Cheques payable to 'St. Martin's Church'

* I am a UK taxpayer intending tax to be reclaimed on the enclosed donation made under the Gift Aid scheme.

Funds are managed by St. Martin's Church, Hale Gardens, London W3

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