I’ve lived in Africa. I’ve seen the truth, the blatant corruption, and know where the money doesn’t go. A few people get a shiny new Landcruiser to drive around in, have a relatively cushy life. Meanwhile, LEDs cost next to nothing..

Africans are nothing if not innovative. Blacksmiths create a forge with a small rock and a bicycle wheel, a band of rubber and a hamster fan. With that, they modify 1970′s car parts to fit on the 1980′s cars… and somehow the clap-traps keep on going down the road. Some (few) have generators to power their TVs in places where they have no electricity. THey can certainly handle a few LEDs and a battery or solar-charged battery.

The Author is steeply involved in, and aware of, the ecological and social aspects. But this project is just another way for well-intending Westerners to feel better by giving money, and for a handful of people to do REALLY well while others get a lousy LED and a battery out of the deal.

LED — a couple cents each. Batteries? Already all over the place in Africa. Wire between the two? C’mon, do you really think any human being is THAT stupid? Have you ever been to Africa, Brad? Ever paid attention past the wild animal tour? It’s pretty obvious that you haven’t, or you’d know better than to write that heap of sophistry.

But I share your mistrust. We don’t trust government. We don’t trust any corporations, particularly those which control essential services like water and energy, food or medicine. We don’t trust the news – we don’t trust the BBC. We can’t trust history. We don’t trust celebrity. We can’t trust our ISPs. And even the banks don’t trust the banks anymore. Hence the meltdown.

And I don’t trust the author as I can’t figure out where his $60 solar panel figure comes from. SolarAid’s Gift of Light donation page says, “£15 will buy a solar lantern for someone living in one of the world’s poorest countries.” That’s $20 USD.
http://solar-aid.org/gift_of_light/

SolarAid is one of the few organizations I do trust.

Incidentally, I don’t agree with the ‘charity begins at home’ sentiment owing to our Western tendency to drive developing nations into poverty with unequal trade positions, multinational oligarchies, WTO and IMF policies, while simultaneously offering tiny charitable handouts and grumbling about it. The right hand beats them down and the left hand offers to help them up while the mouth runs on about how magnanimous we are about the whole thing. The one sense in which charity DOES begin at home: some countries have the same relationship to the poor domestically. We destroy unions, slash social services, create an obscene gap between the rich and poor, and then laud the charitable instincts of billionaires.

Yes the technology is simple – and to somebody who has a basic understanding electronics it is simple to wire together a few LEDs and diodes up to a Solar panel – but the education does more than this.
Often you will be talking to people who have never even seen an LED, let alone a Solar panel so explaining how these work will take a little longer than an afternoon!

There are plenty of examples where charities have installed Solar systems in places across the world (especially in South America) and then left, only for things to go wrong a couple of months later with nobody with the knowledge (or inclination) to fix it. SolarAid is different as the education is the most important part!

Your donation doesn’t just pay for the physical lantern – you are training people to become entrepreneurs in the solar industry so they can source all the parts from a local supply chain – supporting the local economy. Simply giving a solar torch made in china will have very few benefits.

I do however agree with you that Solar is often more expensive than it should be – and we need to work together across the world to help dispel the myths.

The charity is still relatively new and needs constructive support, isn’t just saying “no” what the oil and gas industries do say about “alternative power”?

Just to note; Not a single penny from the charity is going towards the overland trip – this is completely funded by the team and our own sponsors.

Please add a few links so people can make up their own minds-
http://www.solar-aid.org

http://www.overlandinthesun.com

Regards
Gwyn
London, UK

The SL-2 light is designed to provide both narrow beam task lighting and wide beam kerosene lantern replacement room lighting.

Russell McMahon
New Zealand.