Access to information, light and basic energy in a humanitarian crisis can be just as essential as food, water, medical supplies and shelter.

Aerial shot of the 2000 Mozambique floods

For the past 12 years, Lifeline Energy has been involved in several major humanitarian emergencies – the Mozambique floods of 2000, the 2005 Indian Ocean tsunami, the Haiti earthquake, the Pakistan floods and now the earthquake and tsunami in Japan. Natural disasters don’t discriminate between rich or poor, although the poor tend to suffer more since they own fewer assets and don’t have insurance. These five catastrophes alone have killed hundreds of thousands and displaced more than a hundred million people. In each instance we’ve provided either solar and wind-up radios or self-powering radios with lights to displaced populations working with local aid organisations – but only several weeks to months after the disaster.

Temporary Shelters in Haiti

When a humanitarian disaster has occurred, we’ve been contacted by other aid organisations, the UN, corporates wanting to help and even national governments all asking for our products right away.  Lifeline Energy being a charity, can afford to  hold only a small number of products as we procure them from our new product development and trading arm, Lifeline Technologies Trading, on as needed basis.

For years we’ve tried to persuade donors to fund a stockpile that would allow radios and lights to arrive as soon as possible and not weeks later when lives may have been lost.  There are aid depots in Dubai, Panama, Italy, Hong Kong and other locations around the world, which make dispatching goods a fairly straightforward process.

In an emergency, I believe that dependable radios or lights that wind-up are essential.  The sun may shine, but in a crisis, a robust winding system has proven time and again to be the most reliable power source. Offering displaced populations devices dependent on costly disposable batteries or solar power only is unsustainable.  People want and need information on-demand in a disaster – from where and when aid will be distributed, to how to find/locate missing loved ones and weather reports.  One also cannot underestimate the psychosocial support that music provides. In Japan, people also want trusted updates on the status of the damaged Fukushima nuclear power plant and radiation levels on a regular basis.

Having dependable light is similarly important for safety and security at night, especially for women, children and the elderly.  If cellular networks are operating, then a way to power cell phones is just as important.

For the Japan earthquake and tsunami, between the generosity of GlobalGiving’s donors and Oxfam Japan, we have 15,000 wind-up and solar Polaris radio-light-cell phone chargers due for delivery in Japan in early April. These are destined for mainly the elderly in the Tohuku Kanto region.  Japan utilises unique frequencies and radios need to be manufactured for this market specifically.

One of the reasons that we created our new MP3 enabled Lifeplayer is for emergencies. It can provide displaced populations with up to 64GB of educational and informational access anytime, anywhere to anyone.  Children can be organised immediately around lessons in their own language. Given its excellent sound quality, the Lifeplayer easily accommodates 60 listeners. Radio broadcasts can be recorded for listening later and people can record their own stories of their survival for generations to come.

As a small agency, we cannot afford to create or hold stockpiles, yet it’s crucial that our products are immediately ready to respond to the next humanitarian catastrophe. Let us never be accused of missing an opportunity to help.

Lifeline Energy stands ready to work with others around the world to share our conviction to increase our disaster preparedness for the next humanitarian emergency wherever that may be.

We are proud to announce an innovative and cost effective programme to get Haitian children quickly back on an educational track following the January earthquake. Reports from Haiti are saying that children could face months or even years without education, making our project all the more important to get rapidly off the ground.

The initiative is a joint venture with leading radio education provider Education Development Center (EDC) and the National Democratic Institute (NDI) – both organizations have extensive experience and an outstanding track record of working in Haiti.

The project ensures vulnerable children obtain a solid basic education, via Ministry of Education-supported interactive radio instruction using Lifeline radios. The broadcasts provide lessons in math and Creole as well as vital life skills lessons on topics such as water and hygiene.

In addition, EDC will provide the content and instruction for an early childhood education programme that caregivers and children can follow together. NDI will work with its broad network of Haitian community action committees to identify children, including orphans, whose schools have been destroyed and also distribute our Lifeline radios. Furthermore, broadcasts will be designed to incorporate post-trauma programming and provide psychosocial support to quake survivors.

Immediately after the earthquake, our US ambassador, Mr Tom Hanks kick-started our fundraising campaign. More than 1,000 Freeplay wind-up and solar-powered Lifeline radios have been committed. However, we need to deploy a further 2,000 to successfully implement this project, which will reach up to 100,000 children.

Radio is Haiti’s most popular form of media as electricity rates are low and batteries are expensive and hard to come by, especially in rural areas. Lifeline radios solve the problem of access. Let’s also remember that the radios will help with early warnings for the hurricane season.

The most recent UN reports confirm that all schools in western Port-au-Prince have been destroyed as well as 40% of schools in the southern part of the city – leaving thousands of children without access to education in a country where 47% of the population are illiterate.

“We have identified the most effective placement of our Lifeline radios for the rebuilding effort in Haiti. They’re robustly engineered for large group listening,” said Lifeline Energy CEO Kristine Pearson. “Thousands of children, including those newly orphaned and those who cannot attend formal school, will receive essential lessons even under the most basic of conditions. We cannot allow more time to be lost – education is the key to mitigating poverty in their lifetimes.”

We are ready to launch this project and we need your help to reach our goal. The cost of a delivered Lifeline radio is $65.00/£38.00 however any amount will be appreciated. This equals a few cents per child.

Make your donation by visiting our website:
http://www.lifelineenergy.org/haitiearthquakefund.html

The start-up programme can launch in a few weeks, but additional funding is needed to reach a significant percentage of those thousands of Haitian children in need.

For the official press release, please visit our Media Centre.

You can also make a donation by visiting Haiti Humanitarian Radio Relief Fund.

Why radios are needed

Access to information is critical both during an emergency and in reconstruction. Although often overlooked, news and updates from local and international sources is an urgent need, along with water, food, shelter and medical attention. Radio stations are broadcasting and our radios will help aid agencies, the UN and the government get essential information to the population.

The Washington post has written an excellent about the importance of radio information

But what the article fails to cover is how will people be able to listen to the programming? Electricity levels were low to start with and batteries will be difficult to come by and expensive. The most vulnerable groups, including women and children, are in danger of being excluded.

What we can do to help

We have an established track record in humanitarian radio relief having been directly involved in the Balkans conflict, post-genocide Rwanda, the Mozambique floods, in refugee camps in Tanzania and Kenya, and the Asian tsunami. Lifeline Energy has an excellent network of partner organizations on the ground and a proven methodology for distribution.
The Lifeline radio we developed is one of the most successful aid-only products in history and is robustly engineered for harsh conditions. With AM/FM and short-wave bands, it will pick up both local and international stations and with its excellent sound quality, large groups will be able to hear it clearly. It operates on solar energy coupled with a fail-safe winding mechanism.

Working with credible local partners, the radios will be distributed to shelters, schools, churches, health clinics and wherever people are gathered. As always, key beneficiaries will be women, teachers and community leaders. According to UNICEF, there are an estimated one million orphans across the country and priority will be given to provide access to a radio.

We need your support in two ways:

$32.00 will provide all inclusive funding for an emergency response radio. We have 15,000 radios appropriate for smaller group listening packaged and ready to be flown in to Haiti immediately. All we need is funding.
$65.00 for each Lifeline radio, which can be heard by 40-50 listeners, and includes shipping and distribution costs. These radios will be used mostly in the reconstruction phase but must be ordered soon.

You can also make a one off or recurring donation and for any amount by visiting Haiti Humanitarian Radio Relief Fund page

Thank you for your support. If you have any questions, please contact our Digital Fundraising and Marketing Manager, Bhavna Malkani on bmalkani@lifelineenergy.org.

Kristine Pearson
Chief Executive