UGACOX (https://www.ugacox.org) is an Oxford based charity (Reg 1178445) with the mission to alleviate poverty in Uganda by providing education and the means to which people can help lift themselves out of the poverty trap. The name is an acronym for the Ugandan Community in Oxford. This charity has done some great work including building a new school for the children in the Bukomansimbi district of Uganda.
Power Inspired have helped out in small ways by hosting the website on our servers and assisting wherever we can. Back in 2016 we donated a MAXIC1000 solar inverter with a panel and a battery for whatever use UGACOX could put it to and I hadn’t much given it some thought since then.
That was until a few weeks ago when Emmanuel Kalemera knocked on my door to tell my about the new UGACOX initiative. They’ve opened a shop selling bona-fide African produce in Magdalen Road in Oxford. What a great idea. We chatted for a while, Emmanuel smartly dressed from work, me in my Homer Simpson style T-Shirt (have you seen the episode “King Size Homer”?). Emmanuel has such a life story to tell but that’s for another day.
It turns out that in the area in Uganda there are very few landline telephones and practically everybody relies on the mobile network. However, mobile phones need charging and electricity is as hard to come by as a landline. As a result the only way to get a mobile phone charged is to take it to the local store and pay a few shillings to get it charged up. These few shillings start to add up and many cannot afford it and so have to go without any form of communication. That’s where the MAXIC has come in. With the solar panel on the roof and the battery storage connected the MAXIC1000 provides reliable renewable energy to keep the children’s mobiles fully charged – for free.
I thought this was such a great application that we’ve now donated a MAXIC5000 to the UGACOX initiative. This will be used to provide renewable electricity in a new Guesthouse which is currently being planned. If you wish to help out the UGACOX initiative please visit their website to learn how to donate, get some fresh fruit and veg from the new shop, and like the UGACOX Facebook Page.