Yayem is a village of around 1,500 inhabitants in the heart of Senegal’s Sine Saloum region. The NGO MEDIRAID, active in medical aid in Senegal, supports the school and a permaculture and medicinal plant project. It was to help these projects evolve that their president, Dr Delacroix, called on Energy Assistance and then wrote to us: “This short note is to thank you for the kindness, but above all the efficiency with which you handled the two Mediraid ASBL projects”.

The school was equipped with a stand-alone photovoltaic system comprising 9 x 450 Wp panels, giving a total output of 4050 W, and a 10 Kw lithium battery with a 6000 cycle life. This school, which also welcomes “different” children or those without official papers, receives no state aid. With this installation, the children will be able to attend school in decent learning conditions, and also take remedial classes in the evenings!

The farm building has been fitted with the same solar system, and the well has been equipped with a 0.3 kw Lorentz solar pump with a pumping capacity of 3.5 m³ per hour. The permaculture project aims to provide families embarking on this process with a solution for food and medical self-sufficiency, particularly in the fight against hypertension, diabetes, malaria and malnutrition. Dr. Delacroix confirms that the farm building “will also enable us to welcome volunteers from Belgium in optimal conditions to give these training courses and follow the launch of the permaculture and medicinal plant part from this September, another year ahead of our schedule!”

After receipt of these installations in Yayem, our volunteers took the opportunity to visit two sites previously equipped by EA:
They were delighted to see that the solar installation at the “Les Cajoutiers” school in Warrang/Mbour is operating optimally, with a maintenance contract between the beneficiary and a local company to ensure the installation’s longevity.

In the Malem-Hodar region of Médina Safa, a devastating plague of locusts affected the entire region for over a month, damaging the pump used to supply a vegetable garden. The pump, still under warranty, was replaced by the local supplier and is now back in operation.
In addition, our volunteers helped plant 400 thorny trees, creating a natural hedge to protect the garden from undesirables.
The garden is now ready to supply fruit and vegetables all year round to the local population.

Finally, our volunteers also visited potential future projects to see if the project applications were feasible and met our criteria.
By focusing on certain regions, this enables Energy Assistance to monitor projects and study their long-term impact.

Our congratulations and thanks to project manager Freddy A. and the two volunteers Patrick D. and François M. (for whom this is their first assignment) who accompanied him on this wonderful mission.

The school group ‘Les Cajoutiers’ in Warang, welcomes about 700 poor children from the region and also organizes inclusive classes for deaf and hard of hearing children.

Following the extensions of the school’s buildings to also accommodate children with Down’s syndrome, Energy Assistance was asked to review and adapt the installation completed in September 2016, thanks to the support of the ENGIE Foundation.

For this purpose, the existing installation was divided in two and powered by two new inverters, two lithium batteries, additional solar panels on the existing part and a new solar field to power the new part of the added buildings.

The work was carried out by a local electrician, Djibril Traore, who supplied and installed the locally ordered equipment. Regular monitoring by project manager Freddy A. ensured that the modification and installation of the equipment was completed successfully.

In addition to technical advice during the implementation, Freddy also provided a lot of administrative advice to this local contractor. The transfer of skills is also one of the missions of our association. While he had no official documents proving his professional existence, he now has a trade register and all the documents allowing him to have contracts with the government, and he is one of the few in the region!  And he did not fail to thank Freddy for insisting on this.

.  . 

At the beginning of March 2023, Freddy A. and Patrick D. went to Senegal to check and accept this new solar and electrical installation and to give a certificate of competence to Djibril.

The electrical supply of the buildings allows not only the lighting of the classrooms in the evening but also the use of projection equipment and the supply of the fridge, which is indispensable for the conservation of food for the preparation of the midday meals offered to the children.

We are convinced that the upgrade of these installations will bring a plus to this beautiful work set up by Sophie Corynen-Camara and all her team.

Thank you to our volunteers for their investment in this beautiful project!

Our mission was to provide electricity by solar panels to a new maternity ward in addition to the health centre in Hoder, in the region of Kaffrine, Senegal.

The context for this mission was very particular because of the type of construction of these buildings in Nubian vaulting, i.e. built only with mud bricks and without cement. This technique is very durable, but does not allow any fixation to the wall.  To solve this problem, we took the gamble of entrusting the preparatory work to a local electrician before our arrival. He was thus able to embed the cable ducts during the construction of the maternity ward. On our arrival, we were able to see that he had perfectly respected the advice and procedures sent from Belgium.

The important work of placing the panels, cables, inverters, batteries, etc., and the connection tests took place under an enormous heat (from 42° to 45°) with just a little respite at night when the temperature “falls” to 35°.  We are then happy to be in good physical condition and we remember how good it often is under our Belgian sky ;-).

During this mission, we also replaced the lighting and power sockets in the health centre and the covered terrace used as a waiting room was also equipped with LED tube lighting.

After a few days in this heat, it was at dusk that we were able to put the installation into operation. What a joy and satisfaction to see all the smiles and glances discovering the different rooms of the buildings lighting up one after the other, as well as the large courtyard. And after only a few seconds, all the sockets were squatted for charging the phones: so we knew that they were also working perfectly well!!

From this mission, we will undoubtedly keep the memory of the overwhelming ambient heat but especially the warmth of the welcome of the Senegalese representatives of the Malem-Auder association as well as the staff of the neighbouring primary school depending on the association.

Freddy A. et Marcel B.

Born from the meeting between teachers from Auderghem (Belgium) and Malem (Senegal), the non-profit association Malem-Auder supports various local projects, including a millet mill. This mill was electrified by EA in 2013.
During her trip to Senegal, our volunteer Sylvia B. met with them to develop a future project to electrify the new maternity ward and health post.
A nice way to create lasting links and ensure the sustainability of projects.

During her stay in Senegal, our volunteer Sylvia B. met the president of the school group “Les Cajoutiers”, which in 2015 was equipped with a photovoltaic installation by Energy Assistance (Freddy A. and his team) in partnership with ENGIE Foundation.
The installation is still working perfectly and has led to a significant improvement in the functioning of this school, which welcomes more than 500 students in 12 elementary and 3 preschool classes.
This school is also the only one in Senegal that welcomes about fifty deaf children in 6 classes as well as a class for children with Down’s syndrome. Go for zero carbone.

This project, in the proximity of M’Bour, about 90 km South of Dakar, consisted of the installation of a solar panel kit producing 2400 Wp. This installation produces and delivers electricity to a grammar school comprising no less than 650 pupils from the 1st to the 6th grade; with on top three classes for the deaf and mute.
21 classes, an administrative building, a kitchen, a sick ward, a library, a toilet block for boys and girls and living quarters for the guard, in other words, 46 light fixtures and various sockets that require power.
Also a night/security lighting and an automatic well pump was installed, both powered by the solar panel produced electricity.
Our three volunteers assisted by Sadio, a local volunteer, needed all their strength and energy to successfully complete this mission, which was quite challenging due to the monsoon season.

Volunteers : Freddy Arzée (retired Cofely Fabricom),Dominique Thomas (ORES), Oriano Vergnanini (ENGIE Electrabel)
Project Leader : Freddy Arzée