SOLAR POWER AT YEMBERING (MALI PREFECTURE, GUINEA)
ELECTRIFY A HEALTH FACILITY. In 20XX, GUINNOVATION mobilized Guineans living abroad to provide the Yembering health clinic electricity by installing solar panels. The solar energy provides power to light all rooms and surgery facility 24/7, cool the pharmacy (preserve medicines) and surgery facility (safety and comfort), and charge a computer and several laptops.
MANY NEEDS. The Yembering health facility, located in the Mali prefecture of Guinea, had two doctors and a handful of nurses in 2016. During this time, the health facility lacked basic medical equipment, including a scale to weigh newborns or devices to generate medical imagery, and electricity. Babies were commonly born at night with flashlights and kerosene-fueled lamps at the health facility.
One night, a five-year old girl, Fatimatou, arrived at the health facility for emergency care. However, the ill-equipped medical team working in darkness was unable to provide the appropriate care. Her parents were forced to transfer Fatimatou to a hospital in the capital city of Conakry, which was located several hours drive away where she died.
ONE OF MANY SOLUTIONS. When Fatimatou’s uncle and Guinnovation Board Member, Abdoul Diallo, learned of this tragedy, he developed a plan to help prevent future tragedies by electrifying the Yembering health facility in memory of Fatimatou. Impressed with Abdoul’s plan and his efforts to raise funds from Guinean diaspora including his family members the USA, Canada, and Europe, Guinnovation enthusiastically endorsed the project and committed its financial support. Abdoul, a US resident since his youth, spearheaded the effort to build a solar power system. He involved local community leaders in the selection of contractors and personally financed his travel from the US to Yembering to monitor the implementation of the project.
THE OUTCOME. Ten solar panels and their associated components were installed. The solar energy provides power to light all rooms and surgery facility 24/7 using LED light-bulbs, cool the pharmacy (preserve medicines) and surgery facility (safety and comfort), and charge a microscope, a sterilizer, a computer, several laptops, and a printer. This initiative has sparked a self-advocacy and self-sustaining impulse in Yembering. Once the health facility’s capabilities were upgraded, the community was galvanized to advocate medical supplies from another NGO positioned to provide the resources. The community and health facility staff members were energized to maintain their new resources.
NEXT PHASES of SUPPPORT. Guinnovation plans to continue supporting the Yembering health facility and others like it by providing medical equipment and supplies and promoting health through health education.