WE CARE Solar

The installation at Kofan Gayan General Hospital in Zaria, Nigeria was completed last month; now the hospital has solar electric lighting, six new walkie-talkies, and a solar-powered blood bank refrigerator. The operating room is equipped with overhead lighting and a suction machine, and we're told the new set up is "fantastic."

Well, it's all turning out even better than expected. The solar installers arrived on time and are busy installing lights, batteries, and electric outlets in the delivery room, maternity ward, and operating room. We tested our new inverter with the suction machine that Hal recommended days before the trip. It worked! That means surgeries no longer have to be conducted without suction, and won't be cancelled because of lack of gauze. Two days ago, we were offered a reasonable price on a fantastic blood bank refrigerator!

WE CARE had it's first community fundraiser in Berkeley on February 22, 2009! We sponsored an evening of Live West African Music, Dancing, and Slides of Nigeria. Musicians and dancers from Africa and United States performed under the direction of Unity Nguyen, who sang and played the kora. Laura Stachel provided a short presentation about work being done in Northern Nigeria by WE CARE. We raised awareness about our project and received donations that will allow us bring additional headlamps, batteries, and walkie-talkies to Nigeria when Laura returns in mid-March.

Reports from our pilot project in Northern Nigeria reveal that the used two-way radios we deployed are failing to work through the entire night shift. These used Motorola radios were provided as donations, and were never thought to be ideal choices for the hospital conditions. They require a lengthy 10 hour charge from the solar panels and can only provide 8 hours of uninterrupted service when fully charged. The physicians and nurses who rely on these devices, need to be able to communicate between 5 pm to 8 am the next day. We would like to deploy new "ICOM lite" two-way radios. These ICOM radios provide 15 hours of service using lithium ion batteries, which can be rapidly charged in 2 hours! We hope to purchase several of these radios for immediate deployment, and are looking for donors to sponsor the $329 radios, which include the lithium battery and rapid chargers.