Comrades to Youths Africa: E-Shule Project, providing Sustainability and Solar Training to empower the next generation of African students.

About the Organisation

Comrades to Youths Africa is a community-based organization in the Mayuge District in Uganda, East Africa, formed in 2020 and registered as an NGO in 2021. The Comrades to Youths Africa E-Shule project is an initiative aimed at introducing sustainability education with a focus of Solar education and Web3 technologies into Ugandan schools.

We impact youth in rural Africa to be environmentally conscious and empower them with knowledge and skills for employment and to change the world by promoting environmental conservation. In addition to building our curriculum, working to bring solar to our partner schools and creating a specific solar education module, we have developed a Monitoring and Evaluable framework that we will utilize to measure and improve our impact.

Overview

E stands for Ecology, Empowerment, and Electronic. And Shule is a Swahili word that means School

By integrating the principles of Ecology, Empowerment, and Electronic (E) in schools (Shule), the E-Shule project seeks to equip students with the necessary skills and knowledge to tackle community challenges of the future, especially climate change. It begins as a pilot in one Ugandan school, serving as a model for potential expansion to other schools in the region.

This project aims to revolutionize education by embracing Web3 ideology, utilizing decentralized identity systems and ecosystems to empower both students and staff. Through the integration of Web3 technologies into educational resources and activities, students will gain hands-on experience in sustainability and future-oriented practices.

The impact of the E-Shule project extends beyond the classroom. By fostering sustainability and positivity for the future world, students will develop valuable skills and a mindset geared towards renewable energy, environmental conservation and innovation. The project's activities, including sustainability-focused programs, hands- on activities, and skill-building initiatives, aim to nurture a generation of environmentally conscious and empowered individuals.

Update, Progress and Impact

We are happy to say that we signed an MoU with our Pilot School – Mayuge Hill Secondary School.

The GG20 led us to establish a partnership with the Solar Foundation. Through this partnership, we have provided Mayuge Hill Secondary School (our project pilot School) with a Solar panel System.

Still in collaboration with the Solar Foundation, we designing a project called Solar Educate, this project will aim to equip students in the pilot school with SDG 7 knowledge with a special focus on Solar Energy. We have already conducted a baseline survey for this project. We also design the project curriculum serving as both an innovative educational tool and a medium for environmental awareness among students.

The Bamboo Bike Expedition Updates In partnership with the Solarpunk Nomads, we managed to pay for half of the Bamboo Bike and the bike building is under progress at Bogaali Bikes in Kabale District Uganda.

Lessons Learned

We encountered the challenge of limited funds compared to what we expected to receive from the round. However, we managed to make budget adjustments and still accomplished some impactful results.

This experience highlighted the significance of seeking advice and leveraging the expertise of those who have participated in previous rounds. We want to thank Earthbased Soul from the Solarpunk Nomads for his unwavering support.

We remain committed to implementing our project, and no challenge will stand in our way.

Roadmap and Plans for GG21 funds:

1. Bamboo Bike Expedition. We shall allocate some funds to the expedition.
2. Capacity Building and Training. We shall invest some of the funds in training programs for staff and the pilot school teachers to understand sustainability and Web3 ideologies.
3. Development of Solar Educate curriculum. We shall use some of the funds to develop and design the solar educate curriculum that will be used to teach the students on solar energy sessions, and hands-on activities to deepen students' understanding of solar energy and environmental sustainability.

Additional Needs

The schools we work with are located in rural, low-income communities. We would like to find an affordable way to empower these off-grid partner schools with reliable internet access. Please reach out if you have any ideas on how this can be accomplished.