In November 2020, Karuna launched a major call for mobilisation as part of our solidarity movement: Action For Karuna. More than 70 people got involved by proposing virtual or face-to-face events, and thanks to more than 1,160 participants and donors, we raised funds via our crowdfunding platform.
The goal ? To finance the solar electrification of 600 homes in Nepal and to train 12 women as solar technicians. Since then, so much has happened on the site. Here is our report to you about this project.
In Nepal, many remote villages are forced to live without electricity for a variety of geographical, social, economic and political reasons. Despite the country’s capacity to produce hydroelectricity, 35% of Nepalese are not connected to the national electricity grid. Our program proposes to provide electricity to remote communities that have none.
Nepal enjoys about 300 days of sunshine per year, which gives it great potential for solar energy technology, including home solar systems. The Karuna-Shechen rural electrification programme will give rural communities access to this energy.
As part of the project, a two-week training on solar electrification and entrepreneurship was organized for the local women. . The program will generate income for the women trainees who can now install the panels.
Balman, the program manager and coordinator of the training, says: “This training enabled 12 women to become qualified solar technicians. Each participant was able to gain technical knowledge about solar lighting systems and can now install and even repair them.”
Devi lives in the village of Udaypur in Nepal with her husband and two daughters. She is one of 12 women who benefited from the training:
I think women are just as capable as men, if they have access to the same education. I am hopeful that the skills I have learned in this training will open up new opportunities for me to earn a living, and give a better life to my children.
To find out more about the solar electrification and the women’s entrepreneurship training project, you can watch the video made on International Women’s Rights Day !
After the training, 600 households without electricity received solar home lighting systems. Kumari Pariyar, a village beneficiary, says: “Due to the lack of lighting, we faced many difficulties in doing our regular household chores in the evening. We could only tend the livestock after dawn. Because of the installation of the solar electric system, I will not have to work in the dark and my children will be able to study longer in the evening.”
Thanks to all Action For Karuna’s project leaders and donors, Nepalese families have a brighter future. Thank you!
Action for Karuna return the week of may 24-30 2021 !
Are you ready to deploy all your creativity and solidarity ?
After a successful Third edition in November 2020, which brought together thousands of people all motivated by altruism in action, Karuna’s movement of solidarity initiatives returns, this time in the late spring!
Whether you are a yoga teacher, a meditator, a coach, a student, a business leader, a sportsman, a committed employee, a school teacher… you can create a solidarity project, alone or with a team.Unite your friends and family in support of Karuna-Shechen’s projects.
RJoin the Action For Karuna movement today. Register and create your collection page. Together, let’s move towards a more altruistic world.
