Darkness & Light

A year ago I sat in the rocking chair breastfeeding my baby, whilst my three year old walked across the hall to fetch something from her bedroom. It was late afternoon and suddenly all the lights went off in our flat and in every building down the street. Even the street lights went off. Unexpectedly we found ourselves in complete darkness. I have experienced power cuts before, and for much longer periods in Ghana, but never have I experienced such pitch black darkness in residential Edinburgh. For my three year old it was slightly terrifying, suddenly separated from me and unable to see anything. Yet now it’s just a memory of an unusual, but brief, power cut. She occasionally asks ‘Mummy, remember when all the lights went off?’

In Malawi, 14.9 million people still have no access to electricity. That’s almost three times the entire population of Scotland! In fact only 10% of Malawi’s rural population currently have some form of electricity access, which is not necessarily reliable. Lack of electricity results in extreme darkness when the sun goes down, meaning there is no light to study or work after dark, no cold chain for vaccines nor power for medical devices. I wonder if my daughter could comprehend that some children her age encounter such darkness every single day, when the sun goes down until it rises again the next morning? Could they imagine that for my daughter such darkness was brief and is just a distant memory?

Light for Life

CREATIVenergie, a Portobello based charity, is passionately committed to unlocking sustainable energy for abundant life. We have collaboratively developed the Solar Light Exchange, a solar charging hub from which people can rent and recharge portable battery packs to power lights or charge mobile phones. The solar power can also be used for other appliances, e.g. to aid agriculture and business. We are partnering with Scottish Charities Love Ghana and The Kerusso Trust to set up Solar Light Exchanges in Ghana’s Volta Region and the Blantyre Region of Malawi.

As we enter the Christmas season and draw closer to mid-winter, so many of us decorate our houses with extra lights, shining brightly into the darkness. This Christmas, could you partner with us so that communities in Malawi and Ghana can experience the transformational impact of Light for Life leading to a more abundant life this coming year and in the years to come?

How to give…

From 1st December to 8th December 2020, donations to CREATIVenergie can be doubled if given via The Big Give Christmas Challenge. That’s one donation, twice the impact! We are grateful to Tribe Porty for supporting our campaign as a match funder. If you would like to support our Light for Life projects too, please donate via https://bit.ly/givelight4life There is a short video on the donation page explaining more about Light for Life.

Alternatively, you can set up a one-off or regular donation anytime via www.give.net/creativenergie (full Gift Aid terms are available through the link).

We will be happy to provide a ‘gift card’ for you to pass on to friends and family if you choose to make a donation instead of purchasing a gift for them this Christmas.

Find out more…

If you would like to sign up to receive our news or prayer points emails please contact Joel and Esther Chaney via info@creativenergie.co.uk

You can find out more stats on electricity access via https://trackingsdg7.esmap.org/ 

Scottish Charity No. SC047910 www.creativenergie.co.uk

Esther Chaney
Program Coordinator
CREATIVenergie