Charity 2024 - Friends for Africa

Solar Energy for Destiny House, South Africa

Turning on the lights, heating something up in the microwave, or using the air conditioning on hot days... in the Netherlands, it's so normal to always have access to electricity. In South Africa, however, this is becoming less and less certain because the country is facing an energy crisis. There is an increasing shortage of power supply. This problem is so significant that there are even planned outages (called load shedding) so that there is sufficient power in other areas. In recent years, these planned power cuts have increased significantly in duration and frequency. In 2022, there were 200 days of planned load shedding schedules, and currently, there is even daily load shedding. In an average South African neighbourhood, there is now no power for 40% of the day.

This would be inconvenient in any household, but especially in a shelter where care must be provided for multiple (young) children, as in Destiny House. Destiny House is a loving home for 24 children whose parents cannot care for them. Some children stay for extended periods, while others are reunited with their families, placed in foster care, or adopted. Founded in 2008, Destiny House is a beacon of hope and love in the city of Mtubatuba, South Africa. But Destiny House is more than just a home. On-site, there is a beautiful nursery school where our little ones learn alongside children from the local community.

For the caregivers at Destiny House, the frequent power outages in South Africa make their already challenging work even more difficult. When there is no electricity, ceiling fans stop working, making it difficult for children to sleep in the sweltering heat. For some children, the darkness triggers memories of past traumas and fears. For essential needs such as lighting and cooking, a diesel generator is sometimes used as an alternative during power outages. However, this is expensive and environmentally unfriendly. Therefore, Friends for Africa Foundation, a long-standing partner of Destiny House and other projects in South Africa focused on children, is raising funds for a solar energy installation.

Destiny House itself consists of 4 buildings for housing children and volunteers, as well as a nursery school with 4 classrooms, toilets, and an office. Currently, the energy and gas costs at Destiny House are about €5000 per year. The idea is to build the solar energy installation modularly, initially focusing on using solar energy to power equipment during the day, and also having a small storage capacity to provide power for essential items (such as lighting) at night. The estimated investment for this is approximately €37,000. From the cost savings that result from this, Destiny House can further invest in expanding solar energy and storage capacity.

The project can serve as a model project in the community for becoming self-sufficient in an environmentally friendly manner, and eventually cost-saving. For this solar energy fundraising, Friends for Africa Foundation partners with the organisation Heart for the Nations. Together, we want to ensure that the necessary financial investment is realised. And we are very grateful for the support of Kick-In, and for you as a (future) student!

For more information about Destiny House, visit https://destinyhouse.org.za/
For more information about Friends for Africa Foundation, visit www.friendsforafrica.nl
For more information about Heart for the Nations, visit https://heartforthenations.nl/