November 27-28 2013: Journal Entry 2
Happy Thanksgiving from Sierra Leone! As North American’s we have so much to be thankful for. The everyday basics we take for granted, such as power that we have continuous access to all the time, is something others have never experienced or have to travel miles to have access to. This is just one thing we will be giving the village of Golu this Holiday!
If you've been following our Twitter and Facebook posts you already know that TVL is back in Sierra Leone this Holiday to get our first Community Resource Center (CRC) off the ground. In my first post (below) I let you in on all of the technology we’ve brought with us from Silicon Valley to get things started.
Before heading off to Golu, we've been meeting with our Sierra Leonian counterparts, friends and partners in Freetown. “Taking care of business” as they say. However, a big part of the joy for me coming back to this country is reconnecting with long time friends from my Peace Corps. volunteer days. One of those friends is an Irish Catholic priest, Father Brian Starken, who lived in Sierra Leone from 1975-1997. Six of those years were during the civil war. During the 1970’s and 80’s, Brian taught school in Pujehun and then build a secondary school in Gerehun. I also taught school in Pujehun and then later moved to Golu which is only 4 miles from Gerehun. So, Brian and I were acquainted then. During the war, the school Brian built was destroyed. He ran camps for villagers displaced by the war and homes for boy soldiers who were released by the armies after UNESCO came into the country and insisted on their release. Brian was back in Europe for a number of years and now has returned to work on a center in Kenema. Needless to say, it has been great to catch up with a dear friend and someone working with Sierra Leoneans in creating positive social change in their beautiful country.
Another dear friend of mine from my Peace Corps. volunteer days is Mr. Fillie, now Chief Fillie of Golu. He and his family lived with me back in the 70's and is someone I can’t wait to catch up with to see how his family is. I'm so excited to get back to the village and get the CRC lit up and ready for operation. It’s going to be a crazy and fun time for me and TVL!
Stay connected with us on Facebook, Twitter and our website for more updates on our Nov./Dec. 2013 trip to Salone and lighting up Project Golu! If you would like to make a donation to help us complete this project you can here.
November 25-26 2013: Journal Entry 1
In the past year we were able to complete construction on the physical building for the Community Resource Center (CRC) for Golu and partner with other businesses and organizations to equip the CRC with the necessary technology to kick-start the programs. Once again we are back in Golu, Sierra Leone to continue our progress with Project Golu and to soft launch the CRC.
After two days of travel, 130lbs of luggage, three solar kits, two e-Readers and a variety of solar panels we have finally arrived in Salone ready to light up Project Golu! The village of Golu consists of almost 1000 people and has never had the fortune of having power, making this the first time residents will have local access to power. Not only will the power be used to fuel the technology equipment and lights in the CRC but it will also eventually act as a charging station for anyone that with a mobile phone in the village.
Since arriving in Salone, November 23, 2013, we have already had a number of a great meetings! In addition to all of the work with preparing the CRC, we’re also working to partner with the Peace Corps. in Salone. Should we be able to partner with the Peace Corps. this would provide a response team in the region to support the efforts required to see Project Golu through to success and hopefully other villages. More to come on this as we continue our discussions with the Peace Corps. Feel free to tweet the Peace Corps. and let them know you think this would be a worthwhile project for them to partner with us on.
In addition to some exciting meetings we also learned that TVL has been granted a certificate of tax exemption, giving us an official nonprofit status in Salone! So now we are official in both the US and Sierra Leone. Very excited about this! It's a step forward in the right direction.
As you can imagine, we were very eager to start testing and setting up the solar units. Almost as soon as TVL arrived we started the testing process of the sample solar systems we brought with us from Silicon Valley. This includes two 15 watt panels, a 40 watt collapsable panel along with the rest of the system (battery etc.). We're heading to Golu in the next couple of days, where we will finish setting up the larger solar panels and installing all of the solar units, e-Readers and computers.
This is just the beginning of Project Golu and we still have a ways to go to make the CRC a fully functioning operation for the community. If you would like to make a donation to help us complete this project you can here. Donations will go to purchasing more solar units, computers, e-readers and furniture for the CRC.
Stay connected with us on Facebook, Twitter and our website for more updates on our Nov./Dec. 2013 trip to Salone and lighting up Project Golu!