FEATURED: HQ Power extends a helping hand to the vulnerable during COVID-19 lockdown

HQ Power Yumn Ltd, an energy company operating in Rwanda, recently made a donation of Rwf2 million to Solid Africa, a local non-profit organisation that supports vulnerable patients in public hospitals. This contribution will help finance the supply of 2,591 meals to economically disadvantaged patients in four public hospitals across the City of Kigali namely CHUK, Kibagabaga, Muhima and Masaka. According to Isabel Kamariza, the President of and Founder of Solid Africa, most of the patients under the food programme come from remote areas, which made it difficult for their families to bring them food every day, especially during the lockdown. Before the coronavirus outbreak, Solid’Africa used to prepare 400 meals daily. After measures to contain the virus were imposed and complicated the delivery of food from patients families and friends, the number doubled to 800 per day. Kamariza said that the donation will support their mission to help vulnerable patients in public hospitals. Through five programmes, the organisation provides food, hygienic products and non-insured medicaments to accelerate patient recovery process, preserve patients dignity and promote equity. When someone is sick but gets cared for and eats healthily, they worry less and recover much quicker, she said. Founded in 2011, Solid’Africa currently, cooks and delivers 2,400 meals a day to 800 patients around Kigali. Their kitchen, the first industrial in Rwanda, has a maximum cooking capacity of 15,000 meals per day. Supporting hospitalised patients, as Dov Savidor, the Chief Operations Officer at HQ put it, is essentially important especially during this critical period of time when the COVID-19 pandemic has turned normal lives upside down. If you want to heal somebody, feeding them is very important. Food is the best medicine, he said, reiterating how the organisation’s work is a noble undertaking. HQ Power has marked a tremendous impact on the Rwandan community, specifically in Gisagara District of the Southern Province. Despite being only four years old operating in Rwanda, this investment born from a joint venture between Turkish Hakan Madencilik Ve Electrik and the Quantum Power headed by both Hakan Karasoy and David Carroll is about to complete the largest private power plant in the country with 80 MW installed capacity towards the end of the year 2020. This facility will be connected to the national power grid with a contribution of 70 megawatts, estimated to power up additional 300,000 households and new industries. In addition, HQ Power brought together around 250 people into a cooperative from the community, who work for the company on a daily basis and earn 2.5 times higher than their initial income. At least 1500 employees have been working in the project before the lockdown period whereby the majority are Rwandan mainly from Gisagara District. As part of its continued involvement in social development, the company provides capacity building and job opportunities, owing priority to residents of the district. It also covers community-based health insurance for poor families and has contributed to the refurbishment of a local school.

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FEATURED: HQ Power extends a helping hand to the vulnerable during COVID-19 lockdown