The father gets up early in the morning and says goodbye to his family. Then he sets off on foot on the long and arduous way to his work to earn at least some money for his family and a better future for his children. He does not know if there will be work for him the next day or if he will have to look for something new again. Meanwhile, the mother is left alone with the children, has to provide food and drink and organizes family life - as best she can.

This is the typical everyday life of a family in Chiuno Village, an association of seven villages in Malawi in southeastern Africa. There is a lack of everything: water and electricity supply, medical aid, educational facilities. The 2,000 inhabitants of the village compound live mostly from simple agriculture, with only one harvest a year possible. Arable land therefore remains unused for a large part of the year due to the lack of water.

YOOW e.V. has been involved in the region for several years. In summer 2018, two wells could be built. This secures the supply of drinking water and enables more agriculture and livestock. Now a cultural and educational center is being built: The Chiuno Cultural Center will consist of a kindergarten, a school and various workshops for vocational training. Also planned is a medical center with a residential apartment, an office for the administration, a sanitary wing for showers and toilets, and a kitchen for daily canteen operations and events.

5,000 euros for a solar installation through the Enspire Award

Since it is not possible to draw electricity from the public grid due to a lack of infrastructure, the necessary electricity is to be generated by means of a solar system. Additional solar storage will provide sufficient power during the night. The provided power of 6,000 kWh/year is sufficient to continuously supply the entire Chiuno Cultural Center with reliable electricity. In addition, the individual households will be equipped with small modules for light power in order to provide the children with a learning opportunity at home as well. At the end of 2018, YOOM e.V. won the Enspire Award 2018 with its project. With the prize money of 5,000 euros, the association can now realize the solar system.

"The project establishes renewable energies for a secure power supply together with the local population. This is exactly in line with the basic idea of the award," says Kuno Werner, Managing Director of Stadtwerke Konstanz. Achim Ruppel, treasurer of the YOOW association, explains further: "One principle of sustainability that we follow is the early and consistent involvement of the local population. This has developed into a trusting cooperation that has already excelled in many ways."

Info about the Enspire Award

Behind the Enspire Award is the nationwide green electricity brand of Stadtwerke Konstanz. Enspire Energie supplies natural electricity from 100 percent German hydropower and has been awarded the Green Electricity Label. As part of the certification process, the winning project receives funding. The Green Electricity label requires energy suppliers to invest a fixed subsidy amount per kilowatt hour in energy transition projects. The Enspire Award, founded with the aim of establishing renewable energies in emerging and developing countries outside the EU, was presented for the fifth time in 2018.

YOOW e.V. employees and villagers install a drinking water well. (Photo: YOOW e.V.)

The children in the village also help energetically ;). (Photo: YOOW e.V.)