Bennett Oghifo
Akpoyibo Green Foundation, an arm of Asteven Energy Group, recently, donated various solar devices and systems to the Kwara State government as support towards fighting the impacts of covid-19 on school children and health care facilities.
According to a statement by the Coordinator, Akpoyibo Green Foundation, Kate Bassey, the items were made up of over 1000 solar reading lamps, 100units of 20watts solar home systems and three units of solar cabinet systems. These would contribute towards increasing energy availability to isolation and healthcare centers and also for indigent school children.
Presenting the items to the state government, Dr Sunny Akpoyibo, philanthropist and founder of the Akpoyibo Green Foundation and current president of the Council For Renewable Energy Nigeria, CREN; stated that the donation was borne out of a realisation of the impact of COVID-19 on education and health and need to support efforts of the state government to combat those effects.
According to Dr Akpoyibo, children were out of school, energy access was neither constant nor, in some cases, even available, studying had become an uphill task; primary health centers were still in darkness at odd hours and even isolation centers didn’t have round the clock power! but with these reading lamps, indigent school children would be able to study at all times of the day, even at night or early dawn; healthcare and isolation centers would have a ready, rechargeable and sustainable energy source to continue offering constant healthcare services during and after this pandemic runs its course.
Thanking the foundation and the founder, Kwara State Deputy Governor, Mr Kayode Alabi, who received the items, noted that the government was extremely grateful for this kind gesture, and pledged to ensure that the items were judiciously distributed to those it would affect and locations needed most. He also called on other philanthropists and foundations to support the state government and indeed, Nigeria in any capacity they could as the fight against COVID19 continues.
A representative of the Council For Renewable Energy Nigeria, Alhaji Isiaka Jimoh, who witnessed the donation, used the opportunity to reiterate the council’s pledge to call on and use the resources of its members to present more items such as these across the six geopolitical zones of Nigeria.
This should done particularly in areas where they would be most needed, where children were at risk of being neglected or tutoring was at risk due to lack of energy availability, as well as providing clean source of energy to primary healthcare facilities and centers.
“Akpoyibo Green Foundation is a community-focused charity organisation with the aim of entrenching renewable energy awareness and eradicating energy poverty in rural communities in Nigeria. Over the years, the foundation has donated solar reading lanterns to children, solar home solutions to the elderly and disadvantaged and energy saving devices to market women and traders,” he said.
