Monday 17 April 2023

CELEBRATING THE LIFE OF EDWARD SEMBAJJWE: FOR EDWARD SEMBAJJWE, DISABILITY HAS NOT BEEN INABILITY.







Sunday, April 16, 2023 Edward Sembajjwe formerly a Councillor for the those living with Disabilities at Kajjansi Town Council and a Carpenter by profession passed on in the evening at Mulago National Referral Hospital after battling respiratory related problems. Deepest condolences to Edward’s siblings and children as well as grandchildren. He will be buried Tuesday, April 18 at Buswa in Kajjansi Town Council - Wakiso District.

May his Soul Rest In Peace.

Edward has been an artisan whose innovations gave him contacts locally with among others National Environment Management Authority (NEMA) and internationally where innovations in Solar Stoves made him travel to share his experiences.

Edward in January 2017 attended the 6th SCI World Conference when he came back, he addressed relatives and friends after arrival from India. His experiences made many admire him.

Sembajjwe was the brain behind Disabled Technicians Uganda who were involved in among other innovations making Solar Stoves.

TESTIMONY

In a country where Disabled Technicians Uganda Limited has long and increasing successfully experience in promoting cleaner safer, more efficient and affordable cooking stoves, workshops took place to facilitate exchange among solar cookers practitioners on enhancing local value chains. The working group on solar cookers of the Disabled Technicians Uganda Limited energy network sector in Uganda invited disabled colleagues and other practitioners in the solar cooker sector from all over Wakiso District in Uganda in order to discuss different solar cookers production systems and professionalization of solar cooker adoption, models of semi-industrial production, new technologies and testing requirements, different approaches to support individual producers, sustainability, standardization and monitoring.

A week later the solar cooker camp in Kiira Town invited members of the Disabled Technicians Uganda, National Solar Cooker Network with Solar Cooker practitioners from other District to join the association. Participants received practical training and comprehensive information on safety, emissions and solar cooker testing protocols. The camp furthermore facilitated in-depth discussions on issues of value chain promotion and monitoring, Presentations and field visits; demonstrated state of the solar cooker production. Local NGOs compiled reports on the distribution and marking of different models of solar cookers and selling to supermarkets.

In June 2015 National Environment Management Authority Uganda (NEMA) Invited Disabled Technicians Uganda Limited to participate as an Exhibitor at the World Environment Day on the 5th of June. At Sacred Heart Kiterede Senior Secondary School Kyotera, Town Council Rakai District as you may be aware 5th June of every year is World Environment day (WED) the main objective of celebrating (WED) is to promote public awareness and action for sustainable use and management of our environment. Through these celebrations, we reaffirm our commitments to sustainable environment management (WED) therefore each one of us is provided with an opportunity to curry out activities that address specific environmental problems and issue within our localities.

World Environment Day is always celebrated under one global theme provided by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) Disabled Technicians Uganda Limited an Organized group of disabled Ugandans who have become innovative to prove to their nation that disability is not inability. The association has a vast experience in energy saving technologies such as Energy saving stoves and solar cookers.

They use cost effective and locally available materials to make these energy efficient equipment. The association has always participated in exhibitions of NATIONAL ENVIRONMENT MANAGEMENT AUTHORITY (NEMA) Uganda, during world environment day cerebrations over time to time this has helped raise awareness on efficient energy use and the need to reduce the current high deforestation in the country and we have been rewarded certificates from them (NEMA). This is therefore to request you as International Solar Promoter for any possible technician information / materials to support for the furtherance of these important initiatives.

June 2017: World Environment Day celebration - Edward Sembajjwe of Disabled Technicians Uganda Limited built and demonstrated the Heliac Solar Cooker at the 5 June 2017 national World Environment Day celebration in Ibanda, Western Uganda. This partnership formed at the 6th SCI World Conference 2017 at Muni Seva Ashram in Gujarat, January 2017. With materials and instructions from Heliac, Sembajjwe and Disabled Technicians Uganda manufactured the Heliac Fresnel-lens solar cooker locally.

March 2017: The group reports that it has started to construct the Heliac Solar Cooker, a design from Denmark.

Heliac cooker at Disabled tech, Uganda.

TESTIMONY ABOUT SOLAR COOKER ORDERS:

Women First Places Order for 20 Solar Cookers

As Disabled Technicians (U) Ltd worked on the plan for the year 2011, a surprise phone call was received from WomenFirst Organization’s Director Mrs Damalie Sempa.  This organization is found in Kamuli District of Eastern Uganda. They placed an order for 20 pcs of Solar Cookers. This was in the month of November 2010 and they have already got the Solar Cookers they ordered.  We were told that after getting funding from a Swedish based Organization to make Solar Cookers so as to deliver the same to 20 Sub-groups to effect training of women members on how to make Solar Cookers and use them for among other purposes baking; they proceeded to go to the Internet to search for the local manufacturers of Solar Oven Cooker Boxes. They eventually got our contact and were able to ring us before physically getting in touch with us to seal the deal.

We proceeded to make the Solar Oven Cooker Boxes and have already delivered the order. We have discovered that given the escalating cost of Electric Power, and the requirement to fight environmental degradation, there is increasing demand to harness Solar as source of power to aid the cooking. Given this challenge, the Disabled Technicians (U) Ltd Director Edward Sembajjwe would like the Organization to concentrate on training various groups throughout the country and publisize the Solar Cookers so that as awareness is increased there will be a big boost in the effective demand for the Cookers and with time, the environment degradation will be checked.

The Challenge of Disabled Technicians Uganda Ltd is to get the capacity to implement the Prospect Work Plan for 2011. It is for this reason that we appeal to Solar Cooker International Director of International Program Development to incorporate us into the organization’s programs, that way; we shall be boosted and shall effectively undertake training locally as well as avail Solar Cookers to the Uganda Market. It is true the increasing population in Uganda is pressing hard on the environment and forests are one of the areas that are being degraded at a very fast rate, the reason being that only a small percentage of the population can afford to use Electric Power for Cooking purposes, and the majority resort to firewood and charcoal. Our intervention is absolutely important and so far, on ground the climate is changing because of among other things man’s intervention in harnessing the forests and in a number of instances clearing the forest cover eventually for agriculture.






















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