Spanish foundation donates solar inverters for power in Malawi

A generous solar technology company in Spain came to the rescue recently when lightning destroyed the solar inverters that run the maternity clinic and administration building at Namikango Mission in Malawi, Africa.

“We were at a loss for what to do,” said CMF team member Ryan Hayes, who serves with Namikango Mission. “Both solar inverters are very expensive, but also necessary for keeping the electricity going at these two critical facilities.”

Fortunately, CMF’s Director of Marketplace Ministries, M. Jackson, was in contact with Antonio Galindez of the EKI Foundation, the charitable arm of Solarpack, a pioneer in the development, construction and operation of photovoltaic solar projects. The EKI Foundation focuses its activity on the supply of autonomous electric energy sources (mainly solar photovoltaic) to educational, health and social interest centers in off-the-grid French and English-speaking countries in Africa.

Over the last three years EKI had done three projects in Malawi, and Ryan was excited to hear that they had the equipment he needed and were interested in helping Namikango Mission.

“EKI quickly agreed to donate one full inverter for the maternity clinic and asked us to pay only half of the price of the second, much larger, inverter for the mission house,” said Ryan. “Not only that, but they also shipped the inverters and got them to a location near us for free!

“We have since been able to install the maternity clinic’s inverter and are working on installing the solar panels and inverter on the mission’s administration building, which is a big task due to its size and height,” added Ryan. “We are deeply grateful to Antonio and the team at EKI for their kindness and generosity!”

Learn more about EKI here and watch the video below: