RESPECT International Blog

A. Some information

- Any initiative that can promote the use of solar energy in our communities is welcome. This would be a window of opportunity for our organization “Artists for Humanity” (ArtHum), to explore the field of activity related to environmental protection, which has remained hitherto in our imagination, and many other related actions, despite the intentions of what we undertake.

- Long ago ArtHum was looking for an organization or network as a partner to develop certain activities on land, where activities that require both technical support and financial and material support. In other words, it would be unrealistic for our association, composed of people who volunteered for community causes during a decade (from December 1999 to date), to pretend to participate in this initiative without financial assistance and material consistent. Only with this kind of assistance we can return durability and increase our commitment to the cause of humanity.

- The term “refugee communities of war” should imply refugees, returnees and internally displaced persons (IDPs) and their host communities as they are all subject to the same fate, and this in several ways.

- Moreover, the country where the ArtHum association is based, the Democratic Republic of Congo is full of large tracts of forest and large rivers that are resource rich and compelling, a border area of interest and transcontinental for nature conservation and protection of threatened species of flora and fauna. Constituting much of what is called the “Congo Basin”, already proclaimed as world heritage, this forest and these rivers are exposed to enormous threats of destruction and abuse, which the need to find affirmative ways to limit  damage and reduce risks related to such threats by providing local communities with their African peers and partners in the international community, alternatives instead of using firewood and other deforestation practices.

- In the same country (DRC), with similarities in other communities in neighboring states, people are experimenting with certain waterborne diseases and epidemics that decimated due to the use of untreated drinking water (or non-pasteurized), whereas in a cooking system that does not cost much in terms of energy and other resources such as solar cookers, these epidemics and water borne diseases can be considerably prevented.

- Based on these realities, it is for us ArtHum members a civic duty to support the initiative called “cook food with only the sun: the solar cooker. ”

The use of these cookers can be very useful in our communities. We could use instead of “braisiers (cookers charcoal Bambule commonly called), wood fireplaces, electric stoves, kerosene stoves and ovens called” improved “.

The main difficulties we can mention, in anticipation, is not primarily on the use of solar cookers, but it is mainly related to material resources, financial and human resources (trainers trained & motivated) for preparation of participants an effective awareness campaign on land and supplying equipment to the needy population.

Open collaboration!