At New Vision we receive many important requests for solar lights from our in-country partners. In fact, we have sent lights to 32 countries, but our most recent request from Mr. Alphonso Quamele, the Executive Director of Family Line Foundation Ministries in Liberia, has our entire team working 24/7 doing whatever we can to get them the lights they need.

It is unimaginable, but true. Hospitals and clinics fighting the Ebola outbreak are overwhelmed and sending patients away. With 90 percent of the nation living without electricity, small clinics must shut down at dark or try to administer IV’s and medications to fight the fevers as they spike at night, using just the light of candles or kerosene lamps that emit toxic fumes.

There is an urgent need for solar lights for the community, small clinics and orphanages, as well as portable solar lights for health-care workers to use on their nightly visits to help the sick.

As Mr. Quamele, puts it, “Remember, Liberia has just emerged from 14 years of civil war. This caused an unaccountable number of orphans, single mothers, and children of single parents. Trying to find solutions to these problems, Liberia is again faced with the epidemic of Ebola that demands the calling in of our international friends and partners like yours.”

How Can You Help?

New Vision Renewable Energy’s original solar lights have been invaluable fighting the toxicity of kerosene lanterns (the primary source of light and cooking in many developing countries) and helped start small sustainable businesses, further children’s education and empower women and children to fight off the dangers of the night.

However, we just sent our last 300 lights to Ethiopia to light a village with 3M Team Africa and invested in a new prototype whole-room solar light. Designed with the help of 3M scientists, Ray of Life Whole Room Solar Solutions — as requested by community leaders — is created as a brighter light that can hang from the ceiling and has a more powerful battery and charges mobile phones helping rural communities to communicate.

To fund the production of the new lights, New Vision started a Kickstarter campaign, however in order to fill Mr. Quamele’s request, we must meet our financial goal set for the campaign. ($50,000)

What was a fundraising venture has now become an answer to a desperate call for help to fight the Ebola outbreak from the Liberia and the Sierra Leone communities.

We need your help!

Please contact us if you are able to assist with our mission to bring solar lights to Liberia. Or, you can share our Kickstarter campaign with your friends and families by using our special page that allows you to post to Facebook, tweet to Twitter or go straight to the Kickstarter page: nvre.org/kickstarter.html

Our President and CEO, Ruston Seaman, put it best, “New Vision is committed to being successful because of what is at stake and we are asking for help to get the word out about the campaign and any support the public can offer.” He added, “The ability to offer solar lights allows us to empower the communities combating the Ebola disease and the solar lights will have far-reaching beneficial effects even after the crisis has passed.”

Here is the urgent plea we received from Mr. Quamele:

As Liberia goes through this time of cris(i)s, the lives of many are being lost while the needs of many are increasing on a daily basis. Families are being destroyed because of Ebola.

Some children are being left alone to struggle for survival. It is reported in the media on a daily basis that this deadly disease is spreading rapidly and sending many to their early grave.

Under this present condition, most parents and their children are living in darkness. There are over 25,000 people who are faced with this situation just within our Du-Port Road community alone due to the lack of electricity. Most parents are not able to purchase/buy a generator to provide their homes with electricity, or can afford to pay electric bills. The government has not yet been able to provide electricity for its citizens because of budgetary constraints.

Many families go out in search of their daily bread and return home late evening. The preparation of food is usually done well up to the night hours. The family members usually gather around the fire hitch that provides the only means of light when the food is being prepared. What’s next for those that have to read and prepare themselves educationally for the next day at school? Many of these children study by candle lights or not study at all. This causes ill preparedness on the part of these school going kids. This situation is worse in rural areas. For this reason, most children are having a hard time with their eyes as the result of studying with dim lights, candles, etc. This situation is causing more harm for most people on a daily basis.

This electricity problem is the same at orphanage homes. Most of these centers are poorly supported. Local organizers of these orphanage homes are managing with limited resources just to keep these kids going through. The opportunity for these kids to study at night is not possible due to the in ability to maintain and support the cost of running a generator.

The government of Liberia has come up with a plan to build Ebola centers in and around the Country. There are more worries on the minds of many because they are going to be separated from their friends, families, and loved ones. What’s going to be the situation while away in terms of electricity? Their movements are going to be restricted. They will only have the change to move about during the day but with the fall of darkness everything will be at a standstill. That condition is going to be more dangerous in the rural areas. You may even have some people escaping under the cover of darkness unnoticed. This may cause health dangers for community dwellers as well.

There is a need for Solar (Lights and) Panels to help those who are faced with this situation. We believe that this is strongly going to help especially in this time of need. We will need the total of approximately 3,000 pieces of solar panels to be able to help this situation.

This is intended to be distributed in and around the Country in the following ways: 1. Communities, 2. Orphanage homes, 3. Families (homes), 4. Individual (self-supported students), 5. Ebola centers etc.

We have been able to organize the community youth to help us do this. We have identified qualified beneficiaries or recipients of solar (lights and) panels under our SOS assistance program for people in need.

Your tax deductible contribution to this call will be of great help and relief for our people that are now being faced with compound complex situations.