Approximately one year after leading roof window manufacturer VELUX Group joined forces with social business Little Sun and NGO Plan International, launching a design competition to bring clean, sustainable light to Africa, the first solar lamps have now arrived on African soil.
The VELUX Natural Light International Design Competition received 172 proposals from 65 countries. A high-level jury of experts in the fields of architecture, art and design subsequently selected the winning design, by Mariana Arando and Luca Fondello of the University of Buenos Aires, Argentina. Their solar lamp design was inspired by the way light can bring people together.
The VELUX Group has so far produced and donated 14,500 of the solar-powered lamps, and 150 local sales agents are now being trained in how to sell the lamps in off-grid communities in Senegal, Zimbabwe and Zambia. The training combines workshops, roleplay, demonstrations, and group work.
To view the multimedia release go to:
http://www.multivu.com/players/uk/7724551-velux-natural-light-solar-lamps-in-africa/
Globally, 1.2 billion people have no access to electricity. On the occasion of VELUX 75th anniversary the company decided to address this issue. Together with the social business Little Sun and the NGO Plan International they are collaborating to bring clean, reliable and affordable light to off-grid regions in Zambia, Sierra Leone and Zimbabwe.
14,500 Natural Light lamps from the VELUX Group have now arrived in Africa and the first recipients can already look forward to a better quality of life.
Among them are young girls between 10 and 18 years of age who live in a safe house in the slum area Mntendere in the Zambian capital Lusaka.
"The lamps mean the girls can do their homework when they get back from school and can feel safer at night, instead of huddling together in the dark after sunset. And it’s particularly important for our children that they feel safe – many are carrying the mental baggage such as the trauma of violence, rape or drugs," says safe house manager Verann Delarey.
To view the multimedia release go to:
http://www.multivu.com/players/uk/7769151-velux-natural-light-and-life-zambia/
Saving lives by providing incentives for routine medical screenings for its U.S. employees, establishing the first charitable nonpublic foundation by a multinational company in China, building homes for underprivileged families in Latin America and conserving energy around the world were among the key efforts by Amway employees and distributors to make the world a better place.
These and dozens of other examples of commitment to corporate responsibility and environmental stewardship are highlighted in the 2011 Amway Global Corporate Citizenship Report published today.
To view Multimedia News Release, go to http://www.multivu.com/mnr/55861-amway-2011-global-report-nutrilite-little-bits-micronutrients-zambia-china
Fifteen-year-old Chengo Chewe from Lusaka, Zambia, has turned his life around through the Children International Youth Program. Raised in an extremely volatile community, he lost his father at a young age; few expected him to escape this terrible cycle of poverty and violence. Yet, in 2009, 12-year-old Chengo participated in the United Nations International Youth Day in New York City. Today, Chengo is in high school and plans to study political science in college. His biggest dream? Returning to the United Nations as a diplomat.
Chengo credits Children International for the positive track his life has taken. “I would like to say thank you to Children International for the opportunities they have given me, the opportunities that have opened in my life.”
To view Multimedia News Release, go to http://www.multivu.com/mnr/52276-children-international-impoverished-youth-learn-to-give-back
World Water Day is March 22, and the children and youth of Children International are celebrating around the world. They know firsthand the difference clean, accessible water can make in their lives.
Some of them also know what it feels like to make clean water available to others. In 2012, the youth of Children International in Lusaka, Zambia, dedicated their Youth Empowerment Fund to extend the supply of clean, piped water to the poor community of Chibolya.
To view Multimedia News Release, go to http://www.multivu.com/mnr/57995-children-international-world-water-day
Today leading window manufacturer The VELUX Group and the social business Little Sun announce a partnership with the NGO Plan International to distribute a new solar lamp – the Natural Light solar lamp – in three African countries: Zimbabwe, Zambia and Senegal. The partnership with Plan International will deliver sustainable solar-powered light to people living off-grid in areas without electricity, through a program that involves and empowers local communities.
To view the Multimedia News Release, go to http://www.multivu.com/players/English/7519251-velux-plan-partners-solar-africa/
Using an entrepreneurial distribution model, the Natural Light project will now donate a second instalment of 20,000 solar lamps. These will be sold by new sales agents in off-grid communities in Zambia, Zimbabwe, Sierra Leone and, for the first time, in Malawi.
The aim of this project, besides bringing a sustainable light source to off-grid communities, was to create a business model for local sales agents to make a living. This has been a great success. Today more than 50 sales agents in three African nations – Zimbabwe, Zambia and Sierra Leone – have their own businesses selling Natural Light solar lamps.
The Natural Light project, in collaboration with social business Little Sun, and NGO Plan International, was created to celebrate the VELUX Group’s 75th anniversary. Following an international design competition last year, which received 172 submissions from all over the world, the winning design was chosen and 14,500 units of the solar lamp were distributed in Africa – one for each employee of the VELUX Group and its sister companies.
To view the multimedia release go to:
http://www.multivu.com/players/uk/8006751-velux-more-natural-light-shine-in-africa/
