In Kenya, as you can imagine, electricity is scarce. Engineers are not looking to expand electricity in the country but trying to create cheap, easy to use technology that runs on sustainable, natural, free energy. Greenpeace is giving young people the chance to bring solar energy to Kenya with their “Solar Generation” initiative. And their first customer was President Obama’s step-grandmother!

Mama Sara lives in Kenya and was given the power of the sun in a gift from her loving grandson and Greenpeace’s “Solar Generation” initiative. She now has a fully functional solar powered home. They also installed solar panels in the Barack Obama School there.

The “Solar Generation” initiative worked closely with the local youth, many of who live in the world’s second largest slum in Kibera. They held a 20-day workshop for 25 local teens in the city of Kogelo, Kenya where they learned how to install and maintain solar panels. Then they set off to cover the roofs of the city with panels. The workshop also taught them about the marketing potential of solar panels and how they can be produced as well as how to construct solar-powered lamps and chargers to power their cell phones.

One company has even invented an affordable solar powered cell phone in the country. It can be very expensive to charge a cell phone in Kenya because you must walk to a shopping center where they will charge your wallet before they charge your phone. But now, Kenya’s biggest mobile phone company, Safaricom Ltd., just launched the nation’s first solar-charged phone this month. It comes with a regular electrical charger but this phone has a mini solar panel on it’s back so when the phone runs low on battery, you just have to go outside. The phone only costs about $35.

As innovative and exciting as this new technology is, it is also becoming a necessity due to natural disasters caused by climate change. Kenya, like other countries in Africa, will feel the impact of climate change the most. In fact, they already have as the drastic reduction in rainfall has resulted in droughts. This problem is made worse by the fact that hydroelectric dams generate most of Kenya’s power and the drought has depleted water levels, leading to power cuts. Investing in solar energy could help strengthen the economy and protect the environment, while providing a reliable and clean energy supply.

The Greenpeace organization does workshops and programs to encourage world leaders to protect the environment in developing countries. They are pressuring President Obama and other world leaders to take action around clean energy in developing nations when they meet in Copenhagen in December to discuss climate change.

Be part of the “Solar Generation”

• President Obama and other world leaders are meeting in Copenhagen in December to discuss climate change. Write to him, or another local representative and express your thoughts about expanding sustainable, renewable energy sources in the US.
• Start an awareness campaign at your school about climate change to raise awareness about its affects!