GIVEWATTS
There are more than 1.5 billion people on our planet that don’t have access to electricity, or almost 1 out of 4. Most of them are young. The mission of GIVEWATTS is to provide clean energy to schools and clinics in developing nations. GIVEWATTS don’t give to individuals, or to households, but work with institutions in communities, building the necessary infrastructure for the community together with the community, so that they become better equipped to care for their members.
GIVEWATTS have taken the decision to help. They don’t work with overly complicated pieces of equipment, but with solutions that they can train the school management in, that they offer a warranty on, and that adds real value to the end beneficiary, the children that attend that particular school, or the mothers in labour, during night. For further information please visit: www.GIVEWATTS.org
The French Riviera Marathon
This year The Spectrum IFA Group decided to support, raise money and awareness for GIVEWATTS. Our chosen year-end fundraising event was the Nice-Cannes Relay-Marathon. The event was a team marathon divided into different length legs and took place on Sunday 10th November 2013.
A Big Thank You!
On November 10th our two relay teams and Cedric running the full marathon completed the race. It was a dry but blustery morning but the atmosphere and camaraderie was fantastic. An additional 150 Euros was collected during the course of the weekend.
The numbers at the moment are funds raised of over CHf 10’000 which translates to over 200 lamps! With an average of 5 people per household, this improves the lives of over 1’000 and several hundred children! But we are continuing to collect donations and have an auction in January which will add to the total.
Enormous thanks to everyone who donated their time and money in making the event successful.
We will update on specific installations in due course so feel free to check back here periodically.
Again, a huge thank you to all donors – and we will happily continue to receive periodic donations via this site and if you wish to make a monthly donation please contact suisse@givewatts.org
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Measurable Impact:
Measuring and reporting back is key to GIVEWATTS. They monitor each installation project every 6 months for 2 years collecting data on technology use, students and communities.
- Increase in student performance and grades (up to 50-100%)
- Average in family savings per lamp per year (approx. 190 CHF)*
- Significant CO2 emissions prevented
*GIVEWATTS estimate a CHF 0.50 per day per household savings per lamp. Savings may extend from cost of kerosene to cellphone charging as well as to time and travel expenses related to their procurement.
These numbers increase as the donations are “recycled” when the micro-financed lamps are repaid and then the money re-lent.
