Lifeline Energy
Encyclopedia
Lifeline Energy is a humanitarian, not-for-profit organisation, based in London
, UK. It provides orphans, women and refugees with sustainable access to education and information, energy and light. Lifeline Energy distributes robust wind-up, solar powered radios (for group listening) and lights, which do not require batteries, fossil fuels or electricity. It operates mainly in sub-Saharan Africa
and works across the fields of health, education, agriculture, peacemaking, complex emergencies, economic empowerment and the environment. The organisation is a registered 501 (c) (3) charity in the US, a registered non-profit organisation in the UK and has Section 21 and 18A charitable status in South Africa.
The organisation relies on contributions from individual donors, family foundations, corporate funding and government-sponsored programmes. It collaborates with governments, international aid organisations and in-country NGO partners to implement communication and lighting projects. In 2005, The Times
selected the organisation as a beneficiary for its Christmas Charity Appeal.
Lifeline Energy operates in over 14 countries including Kenya
, Malawi
, Madagascar
, Mozambique
, Niger
, Nigeria
, Rwanda
, South Africa
, Somalia
, Sudan
, Tanzania
, Uganda
, Zambia
and Indonesia
.
Lifeline Energy runs under the direction of Chief Executive Officer, Kristine Pearson. She has held this position since January 1999.
On April 8, 2010 the Freeplay Foundation changed its name to Lifeline Energy. The name change reflects the organisation’s desire to not only develop and distribute radios and other communication tools, but also a range of other practical, fit-for-purpose products for the poor.
Donors have included Anglo American PLC, the Body Shop
, Vodafone Group Foundation, Asda
, NASDAQ
, the Founders and Supporters of International Tom Hanks Day and the World Bank
. Gordon Roddick, co-founder and former chairman of The Body Shop
International plc said in an interview with The Times
, London “Radio is the perfect way of getting quality education to a wide area incredibly cheaply.”
The Lifeplayer is the first of its kind and was designed and engineered specifically for the humanitarian sector. It has been referred to as the “iPod® for development”.
The Lifeplayer is also a five band radio with AM/FM and three short waves radio and advanced speaker quality, for 60 listeners to listen to programmes on support disaster situations, relief efforts, entertainment and on-going development initiatives. It can be used for instructing groups in English, math, science, financial literacy, business training and other subjects where there is a shortage of skilled teachers.
In 2011, Lifeline Energy will launch the Lifeplayer in a project for farmers in Rwanda, in partnership with the multinational giant SC Johnson and a US-based NGO, Radio Lifeline. The initiative will disseminate modern farming techniques, market information and health news to Rwandan pyrethrum farmers via MP3 podcast and a monthly nationwide FM radio programme.
The Lifeplayer was created and developed by Lifeline Energy and Lifeline Technologies Trading Ltd, Lifeline Energy’s new product development and trading arm.
Supporters of the Lifeplayer include James Kimonyo - the Republic of Rwanda's Ambassador to the US - as well as Academy Award winner Tom Hanks.
The Prime radio improves on its predecessor, the Lifeline radio. In 2001, the Lifeline radio concept won the first Tech Museum of Innovation Award for Technology Benefiting Humanity for Lifeline Energy, in the education category. During the development the organisation arranged focus groups of orphaned children in South Africa, Kenya and Rwanda. The focus group findings determined that the radio needed to be a bright colour, easy to carry and robust.[7]
Since 2003, more than 200,000 of Lifeline Energy’s radios have been used in a variety of projects - primarily in Africa.
The organisation strives to replace expensive, polluting and unhealthy alternatives such as kerosene
by distributing Lifelights as more than 500 million people in sub-Saharan Africa
do not have access to electricity. It also conducted lighting research to determine lighting needs of very poor households.
Research was conducted in rural and peri-urban slum areas of South Africa
to determine how much child and grandmother-headed families spent on candles and kerosene
for lighting per month. The research involved looking at the types of tasks and activities that were used for lighting and the consequences people experienced as a result of their not having any access to electricity. Hollywood actor Tom Hanks
and the Lemelson Foundation funded the development of the Lifelight.
In 2008, Lifeline Energy launched the Light For Life campaign. The fundraising campaign emphasised the consequences of the lack of modern energy and the need to provide Lifelights to child-headed households in Rwanda
.
Since 2003, Academy Award winner Tom Hanks
has served as Lifeline Energy's American ambassador. He supports a range of projects including Lifeline radios for distance education in Tanzania
. and the organisation's Child Headed Household Lifeline radio project in Rwanda
. Hanks also is the primary funder behind the research and development of Lifelight.
Hanks participated in an eBay
charity auction in which ten Lifeline radios autographed by Hanks were available. In addition to the radio, the highest bidder also received a personal letter and a signed photo from Hanks. During the campaign, Hanks stated that “The Lifeline radio can change the world – one person, one house, one village at a time."
Terry Waite
World renowned British humanitarian Terry Waite
(CBE) has served as the organisations European Ambassador since 2000. Waite recently stepped down as chairman of Lifeline Energy's UK Board of Trustees after nine years of service, but remains a patron.
Sibusiso Vilane
Two time Everest conqueror, South African Sibusiso Vilane
, is Lifeline Energy's African Ambassador. Vilane fundraised for Lifeline radios by walking 1,113 kilometers to the South Pole
, being the first black African to trek there. He stated "I thought if I can get a radio for every kilometre I walk that would be awesome."
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, UK. It provides orphans, women and refugees with sustainable access to education and information, energy and light. Lifeline Energy distributes robust wind-up, solar powered radios (for group listening) and lights, which do not require batteries, fossil fuels or electricity. It operates mainly in sub-Saharan Africa
Sub-Saharan Africa
Sub-Saharan Africa as a geographical term refers to the area of the African continent which lies south of the Sahara. A political definition of Sub-Saharan Africa, instead, covers all African countries which are fully or partially located south of the Sahara...
and works across the fields of health, education, agriculture, peacemaking, complex emergencies, economic empowerment and the environment. The organisation is a registered 501 (c) (3) charity in the US, a registered non-profit organisation in the UK and has Section 21 and 18A charitable status in South Africa.
The organisation relies on contributions from individual donors, family foundations, corporate funding and government-sponsored programmes. It collaborates with governments, international aid organisations and in-country NGO partners to implement communication and lighting projects. In 2005, The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
selected the organisation as a beneficiary for its Christmas Charity Appeal.
Lifeline Energy operates in over 14 countries including Kenya
Kenya
Kenya , officially known as the Republic of Kenya, is a country in East Africa that lies on the equator, with the Indian Ocean to its south-east...
, Malawi
Malawi
The Republic of Malawi is a landlocked country in southeast Africa that was formerly known as Nyasaland. It is bordered by Zambia to the northwest, Tanzania to the northeast, and Mozambique on the east, south and west. The country is separated from Tanzania and Mozambique by Lake Malawi. Its size...
, Madagascar
Madagascar
The Republic of Madagascar is an island country located in the Indian Ocean off the southeastern coast of Africa...
, Mozambique
Mozambique
Mozambique, officially the Republic of Mozambique , is a country in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi and Zambia to the northwest, Zimbabwe to the west and Swaziland and South Africa to the southwest...
, Niger
Niger
Niger , officially named the Republic of Niger, is a landlocked country in Western Africa, named after the Niger River. It borders Nigeria and Benin to the south, Burkina Faso and Mali to the west, Algeria and Libya to the north and Chad to the east...
, Nigeria
Nigeria
Nigeria , officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal constitutional republic comprising 36 states and its Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. The country is located in West Africa and shares land borders with the Republic of Benin in the west, Chad and Cameroon in the east, and Niger in...
, Rwanda
Rwanda
Rwanda or , officially the Republic of Rwanda , is a country in central and eastern Africa with a population of approximately 11.4 million . Rwanda is located a few degrees south of the Equator, and is bordered by Uganda, Tanzania, Burundi and the Democratic Republic of the Congo...
, South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
, Somalia
Somalia
Somalia , officially the Somali Republic and formerly known as the Somali Democratic Republic under Socialist rule, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. Since the outbreak of the Somali Civil War in 1991 there has been no central government control over most of the country's territory...
, Sudan
Sudan
Sudan , officially the Republic of the Sudan , is a country in North Africa, sometimes considered part of the Middle East politically. It is bordered by Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the northeast, Eritrea and Ethiopia to the east, South Sudan to the south, the Central African Republic to the...
, Tanzania
Tanzania
The United Republic of Tanzania is a country in East Africa bordered by Kenya and Uganda to the north, Rwanda, Burundi, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the west, and Zambia, Malawi, and Mozambique to the south. The country's eastern borders lie on the Indian Ocean.Tanzania is a state...
, Uganda
Uganda
Uganda , officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. Uganda is also known as the "Pearl of Africa". It is bordered on the east by Kenya, on the north by South Sudan, on the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, on the southwest by Rwanda, and on the south by...
, Zambia
Zambia
Zambia , officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. The neighbouring countries are the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the north, Tanzania to the north-east, Malawi to the east, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Botswana and Namibia to the south, and Angola to the west....
and Indonesia
Indonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
.
History
The Freeplay Foundation was founded in 1998 by Rory Stear, the co-founder of Freeplay Energy Group. Rory Stear – along with all other directors - resigned from Freeplay Energy Group in 2008. He no longer has any involvement with Freeply Energy.Lifeline Energy runs under the direction of Chief Executive Officer, Kristine Pearson. She has held this position since January 1999.
On April 8, 2010 the Freeplay Foundation changed its name to Lifeline Energy. The name change reflects the organisation’s desire to not only develop and distribute radios and other communication tools, but also a range of other practical, fit-for-purpose products for the poor.
Donors have included Anglo American PLC, the Body Shop
The Body Shop
The Body Shop International plc, known as The Body Shop, has 2,400 stores in 61 countries, and is the second largest cosmetic franchise in the world, following O Boticario, a Brazilian company...
, Vodafone Group Foundation, Asda
Asda
Asda Stores Ltd is a British supermarket chain which retails food, clothing, general merchandise, toys and financial services. It also has a mobile telephone network, , Asda Mobile...
, NASDAQ
NASDAQ
The NASDAQ Stock Market, also known as the NASDAQ, is an American stock exchange. "NASDAQ" originally stood for "National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations". It is the second-largest stock exchange by market capitalization in the world, after the New York Stock Exchange. As of...
, the Founders and Supporters of International Tom Hanks Day and the World Bank
World Bank
The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans to developing countries for capital programmes.The World Bank's official goal is the reduction of poverty...
. Gordon Roddick, co-founder and former chairman of The Body Shop
The Body Shop
The Body Shop International plc, known as The Body Shop, has 2,400 stores in 61 countries, and is the second largest cosmetic franchise in the world, following O Boticario, a Brazilian company...
International plc said in an interview with The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
, London “Radio is the perfect way of getting quality education to a wide area incredibly cheaply.”
The Lifeplayer
The Lifeplayer was launched in September 2010. The media player can come pre-loaded to hold 64GB of educational content, can download Internet audio, can record live voice or radio programmes for playback later and can charge mobile phones.The Lifeplayer is the first of its kind and was designed and engineered specifically for the humanitarian sector. It has been referred to as the “iPod® for development”.
The Lifeplayer is also a five band radio with AM/FM and three short waves radio and advanced speaker quality, for 60 listeners to listen to programmes on support disaster situations, relief efforts, entertainment and on-going development initiatives. It can be used for instructing groups in English, math, science, financial literacy, business training and other subjects where there is a shortage of skilled teachers.
In 2011, Lifeline Energy will launch the Lifeplayer in a project for farmers in Rwanda, in partnership with the multinational giant SC Johnson and a US-based NGO, Radio Lifeline. The initiative will disseminate modern farming techniques, market information and health news to Rwandan pyrethrum farmers via MP3 podcast and a monthly nationwide FM radio programme.
The Lifeplayer was created and developed by Lifeline Energy and Lifeline Technologies Trading Ltd, Lifeline Energy’s new product development and trading arm.
Supporters of the Lifeplayer include James Kimonyo - the Republic of Rwanda's Ambassador to the US - as well as Academy Award winner Tom Hanks.
The Prime
The Prime radio was launched in August 2010 and replaced the Lifeline radio - the first solar and wind-up radio made exclusively for the humanitarian sector. Prime radios can reach up to 60 listeners and has five bands – AM, FM and three short-wave bandwidths. It also features an LCD screen, a solar panel, a hand crank, and a DC input that can be plugged into either a wall socket or a car battery. The solar panels can charge the radio directly through a cable or can charge wirelessly. The solar panel also can include a USB output socket, enabling mobile phone charging on demand.The Prime radio improves on its predecessor, the Lifeline radio. In 2001, the Lifeline radio concept won the first Tech Museum of Innovation Award for Technology Benefiting Humanity for Lifeline Energy, in the education category. During the development the organisation arranged focus groups of orphaned children in South Africa, Kenya and Rwanda. The focus group findings determined that the radio needed to be a bright colour, easy to carry and robust.[7]
Since 2003, more than 200,000 of Lifeline Energy’s radios have been used in a variety of projects - primarily in Africa.
The Lifelight
Lifeline Energy worked with Freeplay Energy engineers to create a solarised lantern called the Lifelight. The Lifelight uses LED (light-emitting diodes) powered by a detachable solar panel and winding handle.The organisation strives to replace expensive, polluting and unhealthy alternatives such as kerosene
Kerosene
Kerosene, sometimes spelled kerosine in scientific and industrial usage, also known as paraffin or paraffin oil in the United Kingdom, Hong Kong, Ireland and South Africa, is a combustible hydrocarbon liquid. The name is derived from Greek keros...
by distributing Lifelights as more than 500 million people in sub-Saharan Africa
Sub-Saharan Africa
Sub-Saharan Africa as a geographical term refers to the area of the African continent which lies south of the Sahara. A political definition of Sub-Saharan Africa, instead, covers all African countries which are fully or partially located south of the Sahara...
do not have access to electricity. It also conducted lighting research to determine lighting needs of very poor households.
Research was conducted in rural and peri-urban slum areas of South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
to determine how much child and grandmother-headed families spent on candles and kerosene
Kerosene
Kerosene, sometimes spelled kerosine in scientific and industrial usage, also known as paraffin or paraffin oil in the United Kingdom, Hong Kong, Ireland and South Africa, is a combustible hydrocarbon liquid. The name is derived from Greek keros...
for lighting per month. The research involved looking at the types of tasks and activities that were used for lighting and the consequences people experienced as a result of their not having any access to electricity. Hollywood actor Tom Hanks
Tom Hanks
Thomas Jeffrey "Tom" Hanks is an American actor, producer, writer, and director. Hanks worked in television and family-friendly comedies, gaining wide notice in 1988's Big, before achieving success as a dramatic actor in several notable roles, including Andrew Beckett in Philadelphia, the title...
and the Lemelson Foundation funded the development of the Lifelight.
In 2008, Lifeline Energy launched the Light For Life campaign. The fundraising campaign emphasised the consequences of the lack of modern energy and the need to provide Lifelights to child-headed households in Rwanda
Rwanda
Rwanda or , officially the Republic of Rwanda , is a country in central and eastern Africa with a population of approximately 11.4 million . Rwanda is located a few degrees south of the Equator, and is bordered by Uganda, Tanzania, Burundi and the Democratic Republic of the Congo...
.
Ambassadors
Tom HanksSince 2003, Academy Award winner Tom Hanks
Tom Hanks
Thomas Jeffrey "Tom" Hanks is an American actor, producer, writer, and director. Hanks worked in television and family-friendly comedies, gaining wide notice in 1988's Big, before achieving success as a dramatic actor in several notable roles, including Andrew Beckett in Philadelphia, the title...
has served as Lifeline Energy's American ambassador. He supports a range of projects including Lifeline radios for distance education in Tanzania
Tanzania
The United Republic of Tanzania is a country in East Africa bordered by Kenya and Uganda to the north, Rwanda, Burundi, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the west, and Zambia, Malawi, and Mozambique to the south. The country's eastern borders lie on the Indian Ocean.Tanzania is a state...
. and the organisation's Child Headed Household Lifeline radio project in Rwanda
Rwanda
Rwanda or , officially the Republic of Rwanda , is a country in central and eastern Africa with a population of approximately 11.4 million . Rwanda is located a few degrees south of the Equator, and is bordered by Uganda, Tanzania, Burundi and the Democratic Republic of the Congo...
. Hanks also is the primary funder behind the research and development of Lifelight.
Hanks participated in an eBay
EBay
eBay Inc. is an American internet consumer-to-consumer corporation that manages eBay.com, an online auction and shopping website in which people and businesses buy and sell a broad variety of goods and services worldwide...
charity auction in which ten Lifeline radios autographed by Hanks were available. In addition to the radio, the highest bidder also received a personal letter and a signed photo from Hanks. During the campaign, Hanks stated that “The Lifeline radio can change the world – one person, one house, one village at a time."
Terry Waite
World renowned British humanitarian Terry Waite
Terry Waite
Terry Waite CBE is an English humanitarian and author.Waite was Archbishop of Canterbury Robert Runcie's Assistant for Anglican Communion Affairs in the 1980s. As an envoy for the Church of England, he travelled to Lebanon to try to secure the release of four hostages including journalist John...
(CBE) has served as the organisations European Ambassador since 2000. Waite recently stepped down as chairman of Lifeline Energy's UK Board of Trustees after nine years of service, but remains a patron.
Sibusiso Vilane
Two time Everest conqueror, South African Sibusiso Vilane
Sibusiso Vilane
Sibusiso Vilane is a South African mountaineer and motivational speaker.He married his wife Nomsa in 1995 and is the father of three children - two girls and a boy.-Career:...
, is Lifeline Energy's African Ambassador. Vilane fundraised for Lifeline radios by walking 1,113 kilometers to the South Pole
South Pole
The South Pole, also known as the Geographic South Pole or Terrestrial South Pole, is one of the two points where the Earth's axis of rotation intersects its surface. It is the southernmost point on the surface of the Earth and lies on the opposite side of the Earth from the North Pole...
, being the first black African to trek there. He stated "I thought if I can get a radio for every kilometre I walk that would be awesome."
Awards and recognition
- In April 2010, Lifeline Energy’s ‘Coffee Lifeline Project’ was awarded the ‘Specialty Coffee Association of America’s (SCAA) 2010 Sustainability Award. The project focuses on a coffee-specific, agricultural extension radio programme, Imbere Heza, ‘Bright Future’. The programme is broadcasted throughout Rwanda by the National University of Rwanda’s Radio Salus station. Approximately 200,000 coffee farmers listen to Imbere Heza each month.
- The TimesThe TimesThe Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
selected Freeplay Foundation (now Lifeline Energy) as a beneficiary for its Christmas Charity Appeal for 2005/2006. - The Tech Museum of InnovationThe Tech Museum of InnovationThe Tech Museum of Innovation, or simply The Tech, is a museum located in the heart of Silicon Valley, in downtown San Jose, California USA.-History:...
awarded the Freeplay Foundation the first annual Tech Museum of Innovation Award. The Freeplay Foundation was awarded a grant of $50,000 which was used to develop the Lifeline radio. - In 2003, Kristine Pearson was a finalist for Wharton-Infosys Business Transformation Award.
- Kristine Pearson became a lifetime fellow at the World Technology Network.
- In 2005, Kristine Pearson was awarded the James C. Morgan Global Humanitarian Award at the Technology Museum of Innovation’s annual event. The president of Applied Materials at the Museum stated that "Kristine Pearson's broad vision and leadership, coupled with Freeplay's innovative technology, its creative application and the potential for replication in other countries, is changing millions of lives and solving critical challenges facing global society. It is fitting that Kristine receive this prestigious award for her outstanding work in South Africa and around the world."
- In 2006, the Foundation was an Energy Project winner at the World BankWorld BankThe World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans to developing countries for capital programmes.The World Bank's official goal is the reduction of poverty...
's Development Marketplace. - Kristine Pearson was selected as one of TIME magazine's Heroes of the Environment for 2007.
- The BBCBBCThe British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
produced two programmes for the Freeplay Foundation which featured the Foundation’s work in RwandaRwandaRwanda or , officially the Republic of Rwanda , is a country in central and eastern Africa with a population of approximately 11.4 million . Rwanda is located a few degrees south of the Equator, and is bordered by Uganda, Tanzania, Burundi and the Democratic Republic of the Congo...
. - The work of the Freeplay Foundation has been shown on CNNCNNCable News Network is a U.S. cable news channel founded in 1980 by Ted Turner. Upon its launch, CNN was the first channel to provide 24-hour television news coverage, and the first all-news television channel in the United States...
’s Inside Africa and Principle Voices series. - A documentary featuring the Foundation’s Guns-for-Radios project in NigerNigerNiger , officially named the Republic of Niger, is a landlocked country in Western Africa, named after the Niger River. It borders Nigeria and Benin to the south, Burkina Faso and Mali to the west, Algeria and Libya to the north and Chad to the east...
was shown on the Arte Channel in EuropeEuropeEurope is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
.