MALI / KIDAL SOLAR PANELS

Over 1,500 households in Kidal city of Mali have received solar energy kits which give them access to electricity and allow women and children to study and work at night. MINUSMA

• Categories: News & Features / News Stories / Unifeed
• Video Length: 00:02:58
• Production Date: 16 August 2016
• Asset Language: French
• Corporate Name: UNITED NATIONS MULTIDIMENSIONAL INTEGRATED STABILIZATION MISSION IN MALI - MINUSMA
• Subject Topical: SOLAR ENERGY
• Geographic Subject: MALI
• MAMS Id: 1691453
• Parent Id: 1691453
• Alternate Title: unifeed160816d

Description

STORY: MALI / KIDAL SOLAR PANELS
TRT: 2:58
SOURCE: MINUSMA
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGES: FRENCH / NATS

DATELINE: 09 AUGUST 2016, KIDAL, MALI

Shotlist

1. Various shots, Kidal city view
2. Wide shot, exterior of closed school
3. Wide shot, interior of deteriorated classroom
4. Wide shot, night view of house lighted with solar lamps
5. Wide shot, Aicha Abdoulaye lighting up a solar lamp
6. Close up, solar lamp
7. Close up, solar lamp
8. SOUNDBITE (French) Assikaday Ag Wayerzagane, Chief of Neighbourhood:
“The families that have benefited from these kits are very happy, not only because they have left the darkness behind, but also the kits allowed children to study in the evenings and women to continue their activities at night.”
9. Various shots, house illuminated by solar lamps at night
10. Wide shot, exterior of NGO AFORD
11. Close up, NGO AFORD sign in French
12. SOUNDBITE (French) Mohamed Aly Ag Albessaty, President of the NGO AFORD:
“This project has distributed solar kits to population in need to allow people to light their homes and it allows children to study at home now that they get electricity service in Kidal.”
13. Various shots,views of Kidal city
14. Wide shot, Mohamed Aly Ag Albessaty charging the solar kit
15. Wide shot, Aicha Abdoulaye moving the solar kit
16. SOUNDBITE (French) Aicha Abdoulaye, Kidal resident:
“We use it to charge our mobile telephones, before it was so difficult to charge our telephones. At night we have also light to see what we are doing until we go to sleep and our children can study.”
17. Various shots, Aicha Abdoulaye charing her cell phone with the solar kit

Storyline

Despite the significant progress in the ongoing peace process in Mali, the security situation remains precarious in the northern Kidal region and left the community with limited access to electricity. A large lighting project with solar energy funded by Canada in partnership with MINUSMA, has brought electricity back to over 1,500 households in the circle of Kidal.

Assikaday Ag Wayerzagane, the Chief of Neighbourhood said: “the families that have benefited from these kits are very happy, not only because they have left the darkness behind, but also the kits allowed children to study in the evenings and women to continue their activities at night.”

To enhance the local workforce, the local NGO AFORD (Association for Training, Research and Development), was selected to implement the 6-month long lighting project. The project was funded by close to 90 million CFA Francs (150,000 USD) given the urgency of the situation.

The President of AFORD said “this project has distributed solar kits to population in need to allow people to light their homes and it allows children to study at home now that they get electricity service in Kidal.”

Kidal resident Aicha Abdoulaye, who is benefiting from the project said “we use it to charge our mobile telephones, before it was so difficult to charge our telephones. At night we have also light to see what we are doing until we go to sleep and our children can study.”

Though the security situation in Kidal is still precarious, the lighting project slowly brought people back to the town and gave out a sense of hope that peace will soon return to the region.