Director of KnowYourPlanet, Mark Kragh, runs a business that resells solar panels to small and growing businesses as well as hobbyists, but making money is not his ultimate aim in life. In fact, he has a heart for Kenyans, making the effort to travel to that part of Africa in February next year in order to distribute specially-made kits as part of his charity drive, while imparting the relevant knowledge to the locals so that they would be able to know how to make more. After all, there are plenty of people in want in Africa, who do not have access to electricity due, or suffer from extremely sparse supply due to mains power shortages. Charge points are also powered by petrol or diesel generators, making juicing up your handset an expensive affair for such a poor population. Since Kenya receives an abundance of sunlight each year, why not go solar?
Mark decided to follow his heart and intends to build 1,000 kits at the very least before February 2012 rolls around, and he recently received a boost from charity World in Need who donated £5,000 to champion his efforts. The main goal? To create a $1 solar charger which has at least a five year lifespan. Now that would something be worth looking into, even for industrialized and developed countries, where most of us take electricity for granted.