Solar Project Saves Lives

Phase 1 of our solar project continues to successfully supply power to the main hospital building at the United Church of Zambia (UCZ) Mwandi Mission. Since the system was installed, 76% of the power it produced has been directly used by the hospital and 24% has gone to storage in solar batteries. In the last year, solar power produced 13201.43 kWH and was consumed by the main hospital building. Graphs of the 2020 solar power usage (to date) are attached with this report.

Moving to Phase 2 of the solar project was delayed until a master plan for the entire hospital compound was completed and approved by the American Partners, the hospital’s local board, and UCZ. The master plan was completed in the last month and has been approved by the local board. The architect, Paul Ndhlovu, and the American Partners’ project director, Lawrence Kamba, will present the plan to the American Partners at our November 14^th board of directors meeting. UCZ will also be reviewing the plan in the near future. The American Partners are excited about fund-raising to help complete this master plan. While it will take a number of years to achieve all of the goals of the plan, we are pleased that solar power will be incorporated throughout all facilities. By engaging in a stepwise progression to build-out the master plan, we hope to eventually achieve complete independence from Zambia’s national electric company, ZESCO. As soon as all constituents approve the master plan, the American Partners are ready to start Phase 2 of the solar project. A 3-D illustration of the proposed hospital complex is attached to this report. The new construction is shown in red.

We thank you for your continued support of “Solar Project Saves Lives.” We are excited to announce that we will participate in GlobalGiving’s “Move A Million” campaign on Giving Tuesday, December 1, 2020. With $1 million USD in funding available from @GlobalGiving, there’s never been a better time to support “Solar Project Saves Lives.” Even better, the more you give, the more we get! It’s almost time to #MoveAMillion! Look for emails from the American Partners’ board members to give you more details on the “Move a Million” campaign. This opportunity allows us to benefit even more from your generosity. Thanks in advance for helping us on Giving Tuesday!!