Due to frequent and prolonged power outages in Kinshasa, the capital of the D.R. of Congo, the Teresian Association requested the EKI Foundation a new backup solar system. The Bana ya Poveda Center hosts minors in situation of marginalization and vulnerability, many of them having been abandoned on the street.

• NGO: Teresian Institute/ASBL Kundikanda-Bana Ya Poveda
• Service: 24/7 light and power supply
• Impact: 45 kids, 3 employees
• PV installation: 12 panels (3.3 kW)
  
• Social impact: improvement in services provided
• Project situation: in operation

The center has the objective of reunifying children with their families, with two educators analyzing this possibility case by case.

At the Center, they attend the neighborhood school and when they return to the family they contine to receive academic help.Those who don't have a family with whom to be reunified, attend vocational training school and the Center helps them become autonomous.

Previously they had an outdated solar system that did not have enough capacity to supply the center during electrical grid blackouts, making it very difficult to manage the center and children’s activities, as well as food refrigeration.

The solar system installed by EKI is working properly, it will be expanded in the future so they can pump water, since currently they use a generator set which is a significant cost for the center in fuel and maintenance.

 El Diario article (spanish)