SSE is lighting up homes in Uganda and helping to eradicate dangerous kerosene lamps, thanks to the efforts of an employee with a heart of gold.
Commercial Manager Ian Meyer travelled to Kitega, near Kampala, with his wife and oldest son for two weeks to help families with disadvantaged and disabled children.
Ian was part of a group of 10 volunteers who used their own expertise to help out at the Kitega Community Centre. He wanted to offer families sustainable and safer lighting throughout the area.
Ian knew that most families currently rely on unsafe kerosene lamps. He said: “Electricity supply is unreliable and in some homes non-existent. They use dangerous, unhealthy, expensive kerosene lamps.
“I consulted the charity Solar Aid, which aims to eradicate the kerosene lamp from Africa by 2020. So we set up a social enterprise which provides a living for the parents of disadvantaged children and at the same time helps eradicate the use of kerosene lamps - replacing them with safe, clean and affordable lamps.
“These lamps also help the education of children as it lets them do their homework in the dark evenings. They are much more efficient and affordable in the long-term so it was good to support a project that would benefit the community for years to come.”
Ian, who is based in Perth, raised more than £700 by running the Pitlochry 10k race, with donations helping local banking groups to buy 200 solar lamps. This established a sustainable enterprise, providing a small living for struggling families and making affordable lamps available to the community. In additional all donations to Solar Aid in winter will be doubled by the Uk Government, giving a further boost to efforts.
The Kitega Community Centre had also been broken into by thieves and its precious PCs stolen. SSE donated 10 monitors, which Ian took out with him on his trip, thereby helping staff teach computer skills and providing web access again for all.
Ian added: “The centre is a haven for many children and the families, helping reduce the stigma that’s still attached to disabled people in Uganda. Staff teach the kids and their parents simple skills and their PCs are vital. It was fantastic the company was able to come to their aid and donate monitors to replace those that were stolen.”
The Kitega Community Centre in Uganda is supported by Kingserve, a charitable trust based in Pitlochry. It has worked tirelessly for years to fundraise and make a difference to families living thousands of miles away.
Ian and his family relished the chance to be part of the work being done in Uganda. He said: “It was a big challenge for me and very inspirational to see how the staff support disadvantaged children with very little. The company and my colleagues rallied behind the trip and have been a real support.”