Sun Oven

New Generation’s (NG) street-children project reaches out to marginalised children on the streets in Muyinga through a daily programme. It houses 60 children with various families and feeds many hundreds living on the streets.

 

In 2006, Jane Durkin in the UK contacted GLO offering help to obtain a grant. At this time, GLO was looking to provide a solar-powered oven to be run by the street-children project to help them become self-sufficient, but needed help with funding.

 

Solar-powered ovens provide an alternative to cooking with wood and charcoal in deforested developing countries that have an abundance of sunshine. The immediate aim is to provide food for the street children, reducing the costs of running the street children's programme. After that, the aim is to establish a sustainable micro enterprise in the local community, generating income from selling surplus food.

 

Jane approached Samaritan’s Purse for a grant in May 2006. This was approved at the end of 2006 and a grant of £8,100 was ratified during the first few months of 2007.

 

With the funding secured and project financing from GLO, Jane approached Sun Ovens International to place an order and arrange transport. The sun oven was manufactured and shipped to Burundi. It was released from customs in January 2008 for onward transportation by road to Muyinga.

 

The next phase of the project is to build a business based on the Sun Oven. NG's Dieudonne Nahimana will develop expertise in using the Sun Oven and source ingredients to start trading. GLO are supporting him in managing his business and learning this new trade. GLO will also leverage the project governance and administration developed for the bus project to oversee this project.

 

In the longer term, a related benefit will be vocational training for the older children who will prepare, bake and sell food as well as learn about nutrition.