Strathclyde University Going Solar in The Gambia
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Strathclyde University Going Solar in The Gambia Mike Dolan, Robert Currie, Scott Strachan, and Graham Ault Over the last two years, volunteer staff and students from the Department of Electronic and Electrical Engineering, University of Strathclyde, Scotland have worked on a project to install a solar light and power system to provide electrical energy to light a school and provide light and refrigeration for medicine for a medical clinic in the small village of Sambel Kunda in The Gambia. Students competed for the opportunity to take part in raising funds, designing the power and lighting systems, and visiting The Gambia for the installation. The Gambia is Africa’s smallest nation with a population of around 1.5 million people. Two-thirds of the nation’s population reside in the rural floodplain flanking both sides of the Gambia River, traversing the spine of the country (see map). The remaining urban dwelling population are concentrated in the Greater Banjul Area located on the country’s West coast. The current socio-political and economic climate has created an environment where it is difficult, if not impossible, for Gambians to achieve their true potential. The Gambia is a nation with no significant minerals or natural resources to use or trade, relying on agriculture and more recently tourism to buoy its struggling economy. With a gross domestic product (GDP) of around $240 per capita (compared to that of $40K per capita in the United States), The Gambia suffers from widespread poverty; 60% of the rural population of one million live below the poverty line and over 20% are malnourished. The World Bank estimates the average per capita Gambian household income to be $1 a day. Twothirds of the annual household salary is spent on food—a classic indicator for poor nations. The impact of such poverty on public health and education is compelling. The average life expectancy in The Gambia is 53 years of age, where 30% of Gambians will die before they reach 40. Only 11 doctors exist to attend to the health care of every 100,000 people in The Gambia, contributing to the rising infant mortality rate and increasing number of cases of HIV/ AIDS and malaria. While state-subsidized primary education has recently been made compulsory for children below eight years of age, this has failed to benefit the 63% of The Gambia’s adult population who are illiterate. In addition, despite compulsory school attendance, the enrollment ratio of children (particularly females) in rural areas remains disappointing. There is a direct correlation between metrics used to measure the prosperity or 502
Dakar
SENEGAL Keur Saloum Georgetown Bassé
Banjul
THE GAMBIA
Tendaba Senegambia
The Gambia
development of a nation and its modern energy consumption. The United Nations Development Programme uses a Human Development Index (compares life expectancy, literacy, education, standard of living, and GDP) to rate the development of 177 nations across the globe. The Gambia rates 155 out of 177. In addition, only 2% of The Gambia’s total energy con
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