Financial support for the Lake Albert University (Unilac) in Mahagi in Congo

Puerto Banús contributes to the electricity self-consumption of a Congolese university to power its facilities with a donation of €10,000. This sustainable energy commitment makes agricultural training a reality for a thousand Congolese people whose main objective in life is self-sufficiency.

Through the Father Ostos Foundation of Seville, Puerto Banús collaborates financially every year towards the construction of the Lake Albert University (Unilac) of Mahagi in the Congo. A total of €10,000 has already been donated, an initial €5,000 in 2018 and the same amount in 2019. In 2020, due to the pandemic, this contribution was put on hold because of the confinement  and border closures. This year in 2021, this philanthropic donation will be made again with a similar amount.

This donation is destined for the construction of a university in the Congo, with the aim of offering agricultural training to the young local people so that they can be self-sufficient from their own farmland and existing natural resources in the vicinity. In total, more than a thousand Congolese people are participating in this specialised training in agriculture, with the indirect beneficiaries being amplified at a quantitative level, as this project also positively affects the students’ own families, village neighbours, revitalisation of the area at an economic level, with all that this entails, etc.

From the point of view of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), this type of project effectively combines the key philosophy of the SDGs, as it fulfils several purposes. On the one hand, this is a project that seeks to reduce inequalities between people through decent, quality education and, this becomes a reality through the production and use of renewable energies and through responsible consumption.

In addition to all the work carried out to achieve these objectives, it is worth noting that this project is a real empowerment of the people of the region where the action takes place, with which Puerto Banús collaborates financially on an annual and regular basis, promoting quality training, learning opportunities for the optimisation of resources and the creation of a sustainable and self-sufficient community through its resources. Undoubtedly, these axes are key to the development of the territories and the reduction of inequalities. Important issues to support this project unconditionally.

We are not alone in lighting up the Lago Alberto University. In this international cooperation project for development, Puerto Banús is aligned with the Father Ostos Foundation to “illuminate” and provide the Lake Albert University (UNILAC) in Mahagi (Democratic Republic of Congo) with electricity. To this end, the Seville-based multinational company Prodiel and the Rotary Foundation created a collaborative initiative to achieve this goal, as the university centre currently lacks a network and artificial lighting, which makes it impossible to use the facilities once the sun has gone down.

The University has a potential capacity for 1,000 people and is the only one of its kind for hundreds of kilometres, with all that this means for young people and for the dynamisation of this area of the planet. For this reason and because of its importance, the project has the collaboration of other organisations such as Jinko Solar, Typsa Foundation, SMA, Gonvarri, Lamaignere, Atf, Tranluz, AS Solar, Sesaelec, Innergy, Díaz Cadena and the Real Betis Balompié Foundation.

This project was started in the Congo 9 years ago by Francisco Ostos, a missionary from Granada who grew up in Seville and has been doing good in the country for 40 years.

Providing light and Internet to this school where more than 1,000 people can be trained year after year is a dream that is getting closer and closer, since after months of hard work by the promoting and collaborating organisations, they have managed to gather all the necessary material for the project which has 69 photovoltaic panels, 800 metres of ZZ-F 1X4 mm2 solar cabling, two 4,600W storage batteries, a supporting structure for 69 modules, and perimeter fencing. As well as 7,400 metres of cabling, 170 luminaires, 30 switches, 70 sockets and a general switchboard.

For this project to finally become a reality as soon as possible, in addition to the construction of the plant and the electrical installation, the company Prodiel will ensure the continuity of the project over time, taking charge of the guarantee of operation through the training of university staff in the operation and maintenance of the photovoltaic plant.

From Puerto Banús we want to contribute our grain of sand to directly influence the quality of life of tens of thousands of Congolese over the coming decades through this agricultural university.