Impact stories
In rural India, Primary Health Centers (PHCs) and Sub Health Centers (SHCs) play a major role in providing last-mile medical services such as immunization, child deliveries and neonatal care, all of which cannot be delivered without regular electricity supply. There are approximately 25,000 PHCs and 155,000 SHCs in rural India as of 2020. Half of the PHCs in India either do not have electricity, or receive an irregular supply, hindering the ability of the PHCs to provide healthcare service, preserve medicines and vaccines, and retain staff. [Power For All Factsheet: Solarizing Rural Health Centers in India
Our solar clinic program helps make life changing and life saving care in rural communities possible. Below are a few stories from the people who have benefited.
Sujeet Rana is a three-year-old boy from the Nepal border area in Uttar Pradesh. He sustained a head injury while playing one evening, and was rushed unconscious to the Bankati health clinic near his
village. The doctor there immediately realized Sujeet’s heart rate was falling and he needed oxygen. There was no grid power due to frequent power cuts but fortunately the clinic was equipped with a solar array and battery backup provided by Solar Village Project. This allowed the doctor to run the oxygen concentrator which saved Sujeet’s life.
One-year-old Surya from the Bachrach District of Uttar Pradesh was severely burned when a pot of boiling water spilled on him. He was taken to the nearby Tiwari Clinic for emergency treatment. When he arrived there was no grid power available but the clinic was fully operational thanks to the solar array and battery backup provided by Solar Village Project. Thanks to the reliability of solar power Surya was able to get critical emergency treatment.
Phulwa Devi has been diagnosed with Eosinophilia, a higher than normal level of white blood cells that is related to parasitic infections and cancer. She has to visit her local clinic at Narottam Nagar twice a month for treatment with an electrically powered nebulizer, which turns medical liquid into an inhalable mist. Until recently, because of the unreliability of the grid, she had to travel from her village eight to ten times a month, hoping that power would be available when she arrived. Now that Solar Village Project has installed solar panels at the clinic, she comes twice a month, knowing that power cuts from the grid have been eliminated.
The importance of access to electricity when it comes to modern healthcare cannot be overstated. Access to reliable power can not only be life changing it is also lifesaving.
Access to electricity is a crucial factor in the success and development of any community, and this is especially true for rural schools in India. Without reliable electricity, these schools are unable to provide their students with the resources and opportunities they need to succeed. By providing schools with solar power we can help break the cycle of poverty and give students a brighter future. Below are a few stories from the students and teachers who have benefited our solar schools program.
The Devpada village school in the Raigad district of Maharashtra has 150 students and six classrooms for grades one through eight. Fourth-grade students Vivek and Shadvi shared their excitement about the solar array installed in their school by SVP. “Before Solar Village Project powered our school we never knew when we could use our projectors and computers. Now we can use them whenever we want. Getting solar was one of the best things for us.”
The Poshir village school has 104 students and is located in an under-served tribal community in the Raigad district of Maharashtra India. Ms. Bhagya, a teacher at the school, says “the solar array installed by Solar Village Project has eliminated the frequent power cuts from the grid, leading to higher attendance levels and test scores. With the library, classrooms and other facilities being powered by solar the students have access to the resources they need to excel in their studies.”
The Wakas village school has 100 students and also serves a tribal community in the Raigad District of Maharashtra. Dyaneshwar Malse is the headmaster of the school. When asked about his experience he said “when I joined the school the metered grid supply had been shut off because of many unpaid bills and there was no electricity. Thanks to Solar Village Project our school no longer needs the metered connection because we are now running on 100% solar power.”
The lack of access to electricity for rural schools is an enormous problem. In April of 2022 1,500 schools in the Raigad district had their power turned off due to unpaid power bills.
Testimonials
Rajkumari
Rajkumari has three children and lives with her elderly father-in-law. She lost her husband and mother-in-law during the second wave of COVID-19. Her husband was the main bread winner but with him gone her debts started growing. She could not afford to pay her electricity bill and her power was turned off. Rajkumari and her family were living in the dark, relying on candles for lighting. Their situation was getting worse by the day. In response she decided to start working at the farm where her husband had been a laborer. There she heard about our solar microfinance program and reached out to one of our team members. We worked with her to come up with a financing plan that she was comfortable with and she became a customer. She now gets 100% of her power from solar and always makes her micro loan payments on time.
Ayodhya Prasad
Ayodhya Prasad operates a small medical store in the Phakarpur block of Bahraich, living approximately 17 kilometers away from his shop in a nearby village. He was increasingly frustrated by the frequent power outages lasting up to 14 hours, which forced him to close his store early each evening.
Seeking a solution to this issue, Ayodhya encountered one of our local representatives who provided an overview of our company and its product offerings. In rural areas, residents are often hesitant to seek financing or loans, as they have been deceived by fraudulent companies in the past. However, our representative and program manager instilled trust and confidence in Ayodhya, assuring him of our company's integrity and the quality of our products. Consequently, he agreed to purchase the system through micro-financing.
Today, Ayodhya is thrilled with the system's performance and the support he receives from our company. Thanks to SVP's system, he can now keep his shop open until 8:00 PM, extending his operating hours by 3 to 4 hours compared to before.
