Fundação Cuerama - A2E Fund

Cuerama's community is located in the interior of Cuanza Sul Province, Angola, with vulnerable children and families, with no access in terms of main services such as education, health, clean water for drinking and many other basic services deemed required in the modern society. Deep rurality, isolation, lack of access of proper roads to the nearest villages, no access to telecommunications network has defined Fundação Cuerama's priority on operating its first project on that community in 2015.

Project: Sustainable Energy in Cuerama

Country & region/location: Angola, Cuerama Village, Cuanza Sul Province 

Category: Energy & Health

Since the beginning of the project, participatory diagnosis with the community were a must. Cuerama's community decided together with Cuerama's project managers to build a Primary School and also tested the creation of new social business as alternative to income generation. A Primary School and Teachers’ House had been built and has been operating since 2018. Canteen was built in 2019 and Pedagogical Workshops Centre was completed in 2020. The Library was inaugurated in the beginning of 2022.

In Angola, deaths under age 5, 70.3 per 1,000 live-births, infant mortality rate of 53,4% per 1,000 livebirths and the Cuerama community is no different. Therefore, building of Medical Centre, identified under the participatory diagnosis, is a must for the community. The construction of this Medical Centre and a Volunteer’s House have already started on the site. There is a need of the solar panel system for production and distribution of energy to the facilities.

By supplying a green and sustainable energy to the new and current facilities in Cuerama Village, a sustainability of rural environment, such as Medical Centre (vaccines refrigeration, diagnostic equipment), Volunteers’ House (26 people), Primary School, School Canteen (food refrigeration), Pedagogical Workshop Centre (machinery, equipment for social entrepreneurship business), Support House and Warehouse are granted, impacting around 5.000 people.

This project will produce and distribute energy to above facilities, as well as the public lighting that will provide a secure access to the facilities. The installation of solar energy will leverage the capability of improvement of works productivity, for example, through the access to machinery and electric equipment on carpentry, sewing, basketry, pottery, horticulture and handmade soap. Online and face-to-face training of new works and improvement of the existing local small business is also achieved through this project.

Expected results:

• Energy supply for 2 new buildings (Medical Center and Volunteers house) and 3 others (Pedagogical Workshop Center, Warehouse and Support House
• Increase of energy supply for 3 buildings (Primary School, Canteen and Teachers house) 
• Leverage the capability of works productivity, through access to machinery and electric equipment in carpentry, sewing, basketry, pottery, horticulture, and handmade soap
• Better life quality of the community, achieved through the offering of better medical assistance
• Increase in the number of hours of teaching, leisure, and working 
• Development of new and improvement of the existing socio businesses with the use of electrical tools
• Women empowerment through the alphabetization program