The municipal power grid in Kenya is notoriously unreliable. Power outages can last anywhere from 30 minutes to eight hours and occur almost daily. For the most part, a traditional lifestyle doesn’t rely heavily on electricity, and people are quite flexible in response to the inconveniences of outages. But a modern institute of theological education, engaged in dialog with centers of learning and practice around the world, can’t as easily or cheerfully weather the constant unreliability of the power.
Without power, there is no access to internet-based research materials. Without power, there is no ability to submit papers for publication. Without power, students study for their exams around flickering and smelly kerosene lanterns. Friends Theological College is currently a candidate for accreditation, and the expectations for level of academic scholarship are quite high. For example, the library is required to subscribe to at least 40-50 journals relevant to theological study. Most libraries around the world would fulfill a requirement like that with online resources.
Without reliable electricity, FTC is severely limited in its ability to progress as a serious center for academic work.
Many institutions in Kenya solve the problem of power outages with expensive, loud and dirty diesel generators. FTC has chosen a different path. Situated at a high elevation just 10km from the equator, the FTC campus is an ideal location for solar power. It has long been a dream at FTC to be able to electrify the entire academic campus using photovoltaic technology, but the dream has felt out of reach. Until now.
Very recently, Jim Hoeksema, the son of Marvin Hoeksema, Principal of Friends Theological College from 1968 to 1970, approached Robert Wafula, current FTC Principal, to inquire about spending his six-month sabbatical at FTC. Hoeksema, Co-Chair of the Applied Technologies Division and Professor of Industrial Technology at William Penn University in Oskaloosa, Iowa, is an expert in solar power technologies. He felt God was leading him to return to Kaimosi, the place of his childhood, to offer his expertise to accomplish a critical priority for the college. Donna Hoeksema, a librarian at Grinnell College, has taken a leave of absence so that she can accompany her husband and work in the FTC library.
FUM is seeking to raise the money to purchase the necessary solar equipment and hire a Kenyan-licensed installer. We would love to have an additional $25,000 to make the most of the Hoeksemas time (they arrive in Kenya Feb. 2016) and to move FTC toward sustainable and green energy.
Please consider partnering in this project. Gifts can be sent to FUM at 101 Quaker Hill Drive, Richmond, IN 47374. Please note your support for the “FTC Solar Project.”
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