A new wave of Christian ministries are answering the call to good stewardship and breaking down stereotypes with renewable energy initiatives.
According to World Bank statistics, over 1.4 million people worldwide, the majority in rural Asia and Africa, don’t have access to electricity. About 3 billion people use non-renewable materials like wood, charcoal, even waste, for cooking and heating. These sources are economically draining and bad for the environment.
This past August, the U.N. Secretary General emphasized renewable energy sources – like solar energy, wind power, and hydropower – as good ways to help lift the poor out of poverty.
Some Christian organizations are beginning to agree. Prominent evangelical Chuck Colson recently said in a radio report, “In Cambodia, for example, a typical kerosene lamp costs around $30 to light a home for a year – that’s about 10 percent of what an average Cambodian earns each year. But solar lanterns only cost $25 and can last for two years.”
Other organizations like SonLight Power, whose mission is “to improve the lives of underserved children, families, and communities worldwide through sustainable solar-powered solutions,” are providing ways to provide low cost alternatives to those in impoverished nations.
Kevin Sasson, executive director at SonLight, told The Christian Post that his organization’s power systems “are often installed at off-grid primary schools in parts of the world without access to sustainable sources of electricity.” They work in many Latin American and African countries. The organization’s projects include providing energy-efficient lighting, TV/DVD assemblies, and laptop computers. To read more, click here.
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To learn more, about SonLight Power, Inc., click here.
To learn more about portable water purification, click here.
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