Out of more than 264 submissions, the Institute for Climate and Sustainable Cities (ICSC) is one of the twelve (12) recipients of The Shine Campaign’s COVID-19 Recovery Fund from Asia and Africa.
ICSC was recognized for its work with Sulong Sulu-an, a community all-women self-help group leading renewable energy efforts in Sulu-an Island, Guiuan, Eastern Samar since Super Typhoon Haiyan struck in 2013, as well as the organization’s work in providing solar generators to health centers, training to community health providers, and COVID-19 relief and recovery advocacy.
Read more about the COVID-19 recovery fund recipients here.
ABOUT THE SHINE COVID-19 RECOVERY FUND (lifted from The Shine Campaign website):
Shine’s COVID-19 Recovery Fund provides grants (average grant size $10,000 or less) to meet the needs of frontline energy access entrepreneurs, cooperatives, agencies, and community leaders as they position the sector and their communities to survive the global pandemic. The target size of the award was set by the Women Leaders Council to meet the particular needs of small-to-medium-sized agencies, those who often have difficulty securing financing. The Fund prioritizes immediate economic relief for micro, small, and medium sized agencies; community based initiatives at the nexus of health and clean energy; pandemic protection equipment and materials for energy access practitioners, solar products for frontline rural or peri-urban healthcare workers, and other activities or materials that will enable energy access enterprises and initiatives to survive the pandemic and its economic impacts.
The fund addresses women’s unequal access to finance and economic opportunities by financing women-led businesses or community organizations that provide community-scale access to clean energy for lighting and productive use — household solar power systems, solar panels for community clinics, solar water or hand washing systems, and solar drying facilities for agricultural products, as well as solar cooling systems for medical purposes or fishing communities. The fund targets women-led micro or small businesses facing a dramatic loss of customers due to lockdowns and market closures or slow-downs as customers cut back on clean energy in order to prioritize food, medicines, or expenses related to the death of family members.
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Photo by Amy Sheppey/Christian Aid.