Can you believe that half of the 1 billion people without reliable electricity, live in sub-Saharan Africa? So as Empower2Transform Solutions began, we knew targeting Africa was the place to start. In April 2022, Ricardo Moromisato and Russ Swaim, the owners of E2T, took our first exploratory trip to Kenya and Uganda. As they explored potential partnerships and clients, we were connected with Kuwasha, a Canadian NGO working in southwest Uganda. Kuwasha helps raise awareness for children’s education and their families, as well as, to provide health care for the Kibaale community.
After our short 36 hour time stay in Kibaale, the need for power was obvious. Even though the community is connected to the grid, there was no power for at least half of our time in the village. On a tour of the medical clinic, that fact hit with potential fatal consequences for many in the community. The administrator of the clinic shared, “Before our clinic received the solar [power] system, we had several challenges…”
- In the lab the power was so unreliable that it would go off for hours on end. “This affected laboratory work and accuracy” where if the electricity would go out in the middle of a test, “inaccurate results could be expected.”
- During emergencies, “we could not access laboratory tests when power was off, so it affected” how we were able to treat the patients.
- In the maternity ward, the power would go off in the middle of the night, so “our midwives were forced to deliver babies in the dark.”
- For expectant mothers, an ultrasound was imperative. But often the delays because of the lack of power, often resulted in missed opportunities and inadequate care for the mother and the child, as well as, delays for many of the other women needing care.
- And there was a growing number of “cases of birth asphyxia” because the “the oxygen concentrator relies on electricity.”
- For those patients that had to stay in the clinic overnight, the caregivers could not provide adequate care for the sick patients.

With such a growing need for electricity in places like Kibaale, our team has emphasized supplying clinics like these with reliable backup power systems. We were able to raise enough money to provide the clinic with a reliable, long-lasting solar power system. The 5 kWh battery and inverter along with 450w solar panels have been transformative for the clinic. The team there reported that “Since having the system [was] installed [in April 2024], we have benefitted in many ways… since receiving the new solar backup system.”

- Baby death rates are dropping because of birth asphyxia and lack of reliable ultrasounds.
- Accurate tests are providing the doctors clearer opportunities to care for the patients.
- Medicines and vaccines are now readily available to care for those who desperately need it.

The Kibaale team were “very grateful to those who have made these changes possible for helping empower our staff to provide better care.”
We want to thank our partner Robin with Engitech Africa Ltd. who helped coordinate the logistics to get the equipment to Uganda.
