06-10三级笔译翻译实务真题(18)

“They are reaching people who otherwise have limited or no access to electricity, and depend on kerosene, diesel or firewood for their energy needs,” he said.

“The applications not only satisfy these needs, they also improve the quality of life and reduce the carbon footprint.”

SEWA or Self Employed Women’s Association, is among a growing number of microfinance institutions in India focused on providing affordable renewable energy sources to poor people, who otherwise would have had to stand for hours to buy kerosene for lamps, or trudge miles to collect firewood for cooking.

SKS Microfinance, India’s largest MFI, offers solar lamps to its 5 million customers, while Grameen Surya Bijlee (Rural Solar Electricity) Foundation helps fund lamps and home and street lighting systems for villagers in India, Nepal and Bangladesh.

“Providing electricity is a government responsibility, but it’s a gigantic task and the government alone cannot do it,” said Shirish Garud, coordinator of the Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Partnership (REEEP) in South Asia.

“In many cases, the end-user has no access to conventional banking and financial services, which is why we need MFIs.”

The Aryavart Gramin bank has approved loans for the installation of 8,000 solar-home-systems in Uttar Pradesh, India’s most populous state and a key grain growing region.

In Africa too, micro-loans are bringing solar systems to homes, schools and cottage industry businesses in remote regions, off-the-grid. Poor people use money they would have spent on kerosene to pay back their loans for the solar devices.

Billion lamps