A Sierra Leonean Youth Organization, Africa Youth For Peace and Development (AYPAD) has won an honorary Energy Globe Award for 2008.
The Energy Globe Award was based on wireless communication and energy for rural communities for which close to 800 proposals were sent to the European Parliament and 100 selected for the final award. The award was issued in Belgium.
AYPAD sent in their proposals last year to the European parliament which was in charge of the project and they focused on how to create energy to use in various communities apart from using fuel.
The Executive Director of Christian Health Association Sierra Leone (CHASL) Samuel Pieh who coordinates the youth group, said reliable and sustainable energy was good for economic growth and that young people should be taken in high esteem and very seriously. He stated that communication was important and should not be limited to a small fraction of the community noting that with the introduction of rural energy, it will help remove the barrier of communication in rural areas. Lunsar in the North of the country will be the first implementation area where AYPAD shall introduce solar energy to the community for a fee. Part of the funding will be in equipments received from the organizers of the award scheme. In many rural communities in Sierra Leone, there is limited access to communication as well as energy and the demand for the use of communication is in the high demand.
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