Kenyan shines his way to CNN Awards...Tanzania mpo hapo?

Ab-Titchaz

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Jan 30, 2008
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Kenyan shines his way to CNN awards with solar lantern


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Evans Wadongo, Kenya's finalist in the 2010 CNN Heroes Award. You vote for him at heroes.cnn.com/vote.aspx.


By ABY AGINA aagina@ke.nationmedia.com
Posted Thursday, November 11 2010 at 20:34



It all started in a room at his hostel when he invented the first ever solar-powered lantern back in 2004.

His desire to provide sustainable energy to communities was hatched while studying Electrical Engineering at Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology.

As he fiddled with an experiment involving the timing of Christmas lights the idea to provide an environmentally friendly light source for rural homes struck him.

Today, Evans Wadongo's initiative, which involves supplying solar-powered lanterns at no cost, has transformed the lives of thousands of rural families who have no access to electricity and live below the poverty line. He has received 200 supply requests from countries interested in his lanterns.

"We plan on opening an office in Lagos Nigeria, Sudan, Uganda and the US to meet the growing demands."

Coming from a poor family of four children, he relied on a kerosene lamp to study at night. At some point he develop poor eyesight because of smoke from the kerosene lamp.

Wadongo, the only African in the finals for the 2010 Cable News Network (CNN) Hero Awards, will be travelling to the United States on November 15 to represent Kenya at the awards ceremony in Hollywood.

The award, which attracted over 10,000 contestants form all over the world, is given to young persons with innovative projects geared towards eliminating poverty and creating sustained social development in local communities.

The 24-year-old will be relying on votes from Kenyans to clinch the coveted award come the finals to be aired on CNN live on November 25. Voting is still under way on heroes.cnn.com/vote.aspx and is expected to close on November 18.

If he gets voted as the finalist he stands to bring home $100,000 (about Sh8 million) which he says would be channelled towards financing production of more lanterns and other economic ventures his organisation supports.

He says part of the cash will finance a project in Migori, Nyanza, that targets to transform the area into a virtual tower.

"I plan to invest the money in setting up an ICT centre, a solar-powered fish processing plant and build more lanterns for distribution to needy homesteads in the country," he said.

In a media briefing held on Thursday organised by Brand Kenya Limited at NHIF building an upbeat Mr Wadongo urged Kenyans to vote for him at the same time exuded confidence of victory in the competition.

During his visit, Wadongo is expected to hold meetings with top business leaders and tour several States and institutions of learning.

"I intend to spend a month in the US and meet with business executives from Microsoft and Apple, hold media interviews and address students at Stanford University and Massachusetts Institute of Technology," he said.

His innovative programme dubbed ‘Use solar, save Lives' produces lanterns at a cost Sh1,600. The production is funded by donors. The solar-powered lamp can light up a home for six hours if it is fully charged by being left in the sun during the day.

The inventor says the life span for the lamp is between six and 10 years. Wadongo says he has designed a new lantern that has a radio and a slot for charging a mobile phone. This one is still in the test stage.

Operating from his office in Nairobi's South B area, which also hosts a workshop and employs eight permanent staff and over 10 volunteers each month, Wadongo estimates he has distributed 14,000 lanterns to rural communities across the country and hopes to hit 150,000 by 2015.

His group buys excess pieces of solar panelling cut from commercially sold panels and collects scrap metal to make the lamps.
Wadongo plans to train more youths to handle the large orders.

He says his dream of providing sustainable development to the poor has become a reality. "Children can now study, households can buy food with the money they save on kerosene, and carbon emissions have been reduced," he says with a smile.


Daily Nation:*- News*|Kenyan shines his way to CNN awards with solar lantern
 
Heshima yako Bw Evans Wadongo maana hii si kidogo eti. May you go to greater heights!

Haya wadau nendeni mkampigie kura HAPA.
 
Kenyan shines his way to CNN Awards...Tanzania mpo hapo?


Mkiacha wizi na umburukenge ndiyo tutaona kama kweli ni mbivu.

BTW hivi content za solar panels Kenya mnayo technology ya kutengeneza? Au ndio importation kwa kwenda mbele kupitia the chosen few? Hakuna kipya hapo CNN wapo mstari wa mbele kuwapumbaza waafrika.
 
hivi content za solar panels Kenya mnayo technology ya kutengeneza?
we do not need to have that technology, we just have to know how to make use of it and right now wadongo is using it to help his fellow kenyans even west africans, what are you wacha1 doing for your fellow tanzanians? or is your job just yapping around like a dog talking trash about a neighbours achivements?

Hakuna kipya hapo CNN wapo mstari wa mbele kuwapumbaza waafrika.
go tell that to the poor widow in a village that does not have to spend any money on kerosene. or go tell that to the kid in a village that doesnt have to use wood fire just to study and do his homework.

wacha1 i know you like having a laugh at the expence of your northern neighbours but sometimes you have to grow the f*ck up!!!!!
 
we do not need to have that technology, we just have to know how to make use of it and right now wadongo is using it to help his fellow kenyans even west africans, what are you wacha1 doing for your fellow tanzanians? or is your job just yapping around like a dog talking trash about a neighbours achivements?


go tell that to the poor widow in a village that does not have to spend any money on kerosene. or go tell that to the kid in a village that doesnt have to use wood fire just to study and do his homework.

wacha1 i know you like having a laugh at the expence of your northern neighbours but sometimes you have to grow the f*ck up!!!!!

Tell him! yuko always very negative towards the northern neighbours even when it's not warranted. This kid has filled or is trying to fill a need.
 
Jamani tuwe na upeo wa kuchambua mambo!

Kijana huyu wa Kenya kuweza kufikia kubuni kitu kama hiki na kwa manufaa ya jamii yake nikitendo cha kumpongeza. Kama mtanzania ninasema wazi kuwa ushindi wake katika CNN awards itakuwa pia sifa kwa Afrika Mashariki nzima.

Pili kama ni wivu ni kitu kizuri na tuone wivu kwa nini wenzetu wakenya wanaweza. Sasa badala ya kujaribu kuwadhalilisha na kuwapuuza ni vyema tukajichunguza nafsi zetu, uchumi wetu, mfumo wetu wa elimu na tupate moyo wa kusema hata sisi pia YES We Can.

Hongera Kenya! Hongera Wadongo!
 
awali ya yote ningependa kumpongeza huyo wadongo kwa 'ugunduzi' wake na vile vile ningependa kuipongeza jamii yake nzima ambayo naamini imempa ushirikiano wa kutosha mpaka kufikia hapo alipofikia.

kwetu sisis watanzania ,binafsi naamini wanafunzi na hata wananchi wenye uwezo wa kutengeneza vitu mbalimbali wapo ila tatizo ni namna gani ya kuviibua au kuviendeleza vipaji hivyo.

miaka ile ile ya mwishoni mwa themanini/mwanzoni mwa miaka ya 90 serikali ilianzisha kijiji cha kimataifa cha sayansi na teknolojia chini ya marehemu profesa leonard k. shayo lakini nini kilitokea kwenye kijiji kile? kumbuka mwaka 1990 kama sikosei alipata kuja kijana mmoja kutoka kenya aliyekuwa akiitwa paul mbugua (kama sijasahau jina lake). kijana huyo alionekana na uwezo wa ajabu katika masomo ya sayansi hasa katika human biology na alikuja tanzania kutoka kenya baada ya kusikia tanzania kuna taasisi ya kuwaendeleza wanasayansi wenye vipaji lakini bahati mbaya walipofika hawakupata kile walichokitarajia. profesa shayo siku zote alipata kusema hakukuwa na support ya kutosha toka serikalini, mwaka 2006 nilipata nafasi ya kuzungumza naye kuhusu suala la kijiji hiki na uendelezaji wa watu wenye vipaji, lakini aliishia kulalamika juu ya namna alivyokosa msaada mpaka kijiji chenyewe sijui kama bado kinatambuliwa na wizara ya sayansi na teknolojia na elimu ya juu.

kwa ufupi m imi naamini watanzania wenye vipaji wapo ila namna ya kuwaongoza na kuviendeleza vipaji hivyo ndiyo shida, Tuna taasisi nyingi lakini kazi ziazofanya huwa ielewi, kuanzia shirila la SIDDO, CARMATEC(LILE LILILOKUWA ARUSHA LIKIDEAL NA ZANA ZA UKULIMA) COSTECH, TIRDO na nyinginezo, sasa sijui hawapati pesa au vipi
 
Tatizo kubwa la wanafunzi wa Bongo ni kudesa. Madesa yanaharibu sana critical, analytical, lateral thinking if that is the word.
tatizo ni sisi wazazi... priorities zatu ni za muda mfupi sana
 
@Ticha...

dogo ameonyesha dira... lakini kwa haraka unagundua kwamba dogo's vision haikua kusaidia pekee, the primary drive ni ile vision ya initiative yake ku-attract pesa kutoka kwa wadhamini na yeye kutoka

we can try to put any kind of word, but that could the primary goal. Huwezi kugawa bure kwa kusafiri bure, kutengeneza bure nk. The best part of KEnyans ni self promotion and entrepreneurial minds....

Congrats to the boy kwa kuanza na vision ya tamati badala ya wengi wetu tunaoangalia kesho tu!
 
@Ticha...

dogo ameonyesha dira... lakini kwa haraka unagundua kwamba dogo's vision haikua kusaidia pekee, the primary drive ni ile vision ya initiative yake ku-attract pesa kutoka kwa wadhamini na yeye kutoka

we can try to put any kind of word, but that could the primary goal. Huwezi kugawa bure kwa kusafiri bure, kutengeneza bure nk. The best part of KEnyans ni self promotion and entrepreneurial minds....

Congrats to the boy kwa kuanza na vision ya tamati badala ya wengi wetu tunaoangalia kesho tu!

Well sed...kisha kumbuka kua the primary drive of any capitalistic mind/society ni kutengeza hela...akili mukichwa...:smile-big:
 
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