South Africa

Light it up

Preparations took almost half a year, the Group partnered with Mdaka Electricals & Chat Stone Adventures. The project addressed the demands of electricity and technology increase. The Group looked at alternative ways of generating energy to sustain their lifestyle. This project took place at Esangweni Provincial campsite in Mpumalanga, located close to Lydenburg. The campsite has a scout hall, store rooms, a kitchen and bathrooms, as well as a lot of space for implementing projects. Prior to the implementation of this project, Scouts in Mpumalanga were not able to use the campsite as much as they would have wished to. And this was due to high payment of annual electricity fee to Eskom. The goal of this project was then to install a solar panel to generate light electricity to eliminate service charge costs, set an example for eco-friendliness, be independent and save energy. Eskom annual service fee was charged to an amount of R27,000. The Group wanted to create a renewable source of energy to save energy, since producing energy through coal-mining or nuclear power threatens the sustainability of the environment. Scouts installed the solar panel with the help of professional volunteers. While working on the project Scouts learned a lot about renewable energy and will now be passing this new knowledge to fellow Scouts and the community at large. By contributing to a more eco-friendly environment using solar energy, the Group wanted to annul the Eskom Account service charges of R27, 000 a year, which can be used for implementing projects and become more independent. As well as raise awareness among the Scouts about the importance of renewable energy and the bad impacts of generating electricity commercially to the environment. In Mpumalanga 95% of the Cubs and Scouts come from rural, disadvantaged areas, and for most these Scouts the only time they go on holiday is when they attend the Scout camps. Using a bakkie and trailer four Rovers and one professional volunteer installed the solar panels on the roof, connecting them to the batteries, DC/AC inverter and charge controller. Four solar panels with six batteries and DC/AC inverter were installed, connecting light and the electric fence to the new power supply. Esangweni is now independent from Eskom (Energy supplier), and R 27, 000 per year will be saved. The new energy source is environmentally friendly and renewable. This project has benefited 4,000 Scouts and about 1,000 non Scouts. The Province’s future plans are to be a pioneer in the region to use solar panels to generate electricity.
Started Ended
Number of participants
40
Service hours
200
Location
South Africa
Topics
Youth Programme
Youth Engagement

Share via

Share