Israeli tech aid for Africa
Innovation is key to breaking the cycle of poverty, writes
THE year 2018 marks Israel’s 70th anniversary. Another year celebrating the fundamental cornerstones that built this revolutionary and progressive country: tzedakah (charity), tikkun olam (social action) and innovation, to name a few.
Israel, a country built by pioneers, has changed from being a desert wasteland to a rich land full of food, water and energy.
This transformation transpired through the use of three essential elements: sun, land and water. And today Israel is a thriving industry of hi-tech start-ups and medical advancements, and among the world’s political and economic leaders.
Built on the vision and ethos of David Ben Gurion and Golda Meir to extend Israeli benevolence in Africa, enters Innovation: Africa (iA). With offices in New York, Israel and Africa, iA brings Israeli solar, water and agricultural technologies to rural African villages.
Founded in 2008 by Israeli social entrepreneur Sivan Yaari, iA has completed over 180 installations in eight African countries: Uganda, Malawi, Tanzania, Ethiopia, South Africa, the DRC, Senegal and Cameroon, affecting over 1 million people by installing light to power schools, medical centres and orphanages, and pump clean water trapped beneath the ground in the aquifers.
Yaari and her team prove that simple solutions can have far-reaching effects on life’s most basic needs, including the devastating poverty in sub-Saharan Africa.
About 319 million people are living in sub-Saharan Africa without access to clean water. That is the entire population of the US in 2014. It is estimated that by 2020, more than 60% of sub-Saharan Africans will still lack access to electricity, meaning most people will continue to suffer from water-borne diseases, lack of education, complications during labour and delivery, and malnutrition.
All basic necessities of life revolve around access to water and energy – the ability to eat and drink, to cook, to study, to give birth.
With today’s technology and know-how, the first world has the ability to transfer knowledge and solutions to break this cycle of poverty and open a way for economic development and a new way of life.
Innovation: Africa takes a unique approach to rural electrification, combining both cutting edge Israeli technology and grassroots community empowerment to create a sustainable transformative change in rural communities.
Energy
The simple solution lies in a free source of energy: the sun. The same sun that is the source of the problem, drying the land of people living in rural African villages, can also be the source of the solution, providing the energy needed to help them escape the cycle of poverty.
From improved community health, the entrepreneurial spirit begins to flourish within the village – creating jobs, income and economic independence. For the first time, children are strong enough to attend school. Freed from fetching dirty water, the community is empowered with healthier living conditions and the overall economic and educational opportunities are made possible with electricity.
This model has generated international recognition by the UN as a leader in the field of solar energy and received the prestigious “Innovation Award” for iA’s unique Remote Monitoring System.
This technology is installed across all of their projects in Africa, allowing iA’s staff and partners to track live all data: energy consumed, energy produced and water flow output, at any given time.
Additionally, if something breaks, they receive live alerts in order to tend to the issue and repair the system immediately.
Within months, a starving and dying village can have life again. Water and solar energy can change the entire picture.
Clean water to drink and cook with and drip irrigation to grow and harvest food that can then be sold in the local market bring additional household income, helping to lift families out of economic hardship.
Impact
The impact is endless. All from the simple ability to harness the power of the sun to access water beneath their feet.
Uganda remains iA’s flagship country with more than water technology and enhanced health-care services for thousands of refugees who fled from the Central African Republic.
The aim is to seek out “sustainable partnerships to lead to effective generational change across and within rural communities”.
Moving forward, iA has plans to install an additional 40 new solar and water projects in medical centres, some to tackle issues surrounding refugee communities, giving them a second chance at a life of freedom and independence.
Transformative
The past 10 years for iA have been transformative, yet the accomplishments are a drop in the ocean. Over the next seven years, iA has set its sights on reaching 1 000 villages, bringing solar energy to more than 6 million people. To achieve these goals by 2025, iA will be expanding into its ninth country, Zambia, later this year.
Village by village, iA will continue bringing light where there is darkness, water where there is drought and hope and dignity where there is despair.
Sivan is in South Africa this week for the South African Friends of Israel Conference taking place across Cape Town, Durban and Johannesburg, hosted by the South African Zionist Federation. Thousands of participants across the country have come to celebrate Israel’s contribution to the world and in Africa. Now iA is being highlighted through Sivan’s presentations to celebrate an empowering narrative coming out of Israel today. – AP/African News Agency For more, please www.innoafrica.org visit: