Since the opening of the Central Hospital Rusayu in 2015 there has been a struggle to provide consistent power. There is no grid and for a long time the hospital has been powered using a small 250 Watt diesel generator. This was unreliable and often insufficient. With the increase in facilities and equipment requiring power this became no longer workable and a single solar panel was installed to supplement the power input.
The hospital has continued to expand and further equipment has been and will be purchased, these together with increased fuel prices has caused a rethink. A recent grant from the Jephcott Charitable Trust, topped up by extra funds raised by our supporters who completed the LEJOG challenge for the Pharmacy last year, has allowed the hospital to purchase and install 15 solar panels and a battery bank for energy storage.
These solar panels were installed last week and will be able to provide 4.8kW of power and ensure that there is reliable power available 24/7. As a consequence all of the vital life-saving medical equipment will be available for use whenever needed enabling the provision of high quality care for the Rusayu area including displaced people, marginalised pygmies, traumatised rape survivors and a local population living on the margins and unable to pay for health care.
a little can change a life