About Lighting
up Lives
Lighting Up Lives aims to build resilient, thriving, and autonomous communities by connecting changemakers with citizens in rural villages, sharing the skills, resources, and tools needed to improve lives on both sides of the partnership.
With a strong focus on values, collaboration, and skill-sharing, we operate on the principle of inspiring and supporting local action to solve local problems. By establishing partnerships between socially-conscious individuals and companies in the developed world and solution-focused villagers in West Africa, we’re able to help locals take advantage of the wealth of resources around them.
Our Team
Doug Manuel. President and Project Leader, interim treasurer
Africa has given me so much, and I just want to give back. Lighting Up Lives is only part of how I live out my commitment to building bridges between Africa and the West.
My love of Africa was born after attending a djembe workshop in 1995 and solidified after I worked on a subsequent documentary about African elephants. I left my career at the BBC in 1997 and spent two years in West Africa studying the music and history of the djembe. I've spent the subsequent twenty years running leadership and team building programs for Fortune 500 companies and leading business schools around the world.
I now make a home in the Senegalese village of Abéné, where I've been deeply affected by the poverty surrounding me. Here, I've watched a midwife deliver a baby, flashlight clenched between her chin and shoulder, during one of the village's frequent power outages. Scenes like these have only fueled my determination to help villagers find sustainable responses to meeting their needs.
I believe that Africa's future lies in moving towards local autonomy and away from external resource dependence. Through Lighting Up Lives, I work with villagers in Abéné to develop that spirit of autonomy. After this pilot project, I plan to offer a tested partnership approach to other villages in rural Africa. It's my way of giving back to a continent whose people have demonstrated such generosity to me.
Aliou
As a lifelong Senegalese, I have deep roots in village life and nature, along with a deep pride in my culture. Lighting Up Lives has afforded me the pleasure of sharing what is so near to my heart with the rest of the world. It has been enriching for me and for the village in so many ways. Exploring shared human values with new friends from so many different cultures has led to deep, meaningful connections.
My decades-long friendship with Doug has evolved into an ongoing endeavour to improve the lives of individuals living in rural Senegal. As a master Kora maker, I value the beauty of what Lighting Up Lives and the Leadership Retreats create by bringing people from different cultures and different walks of life together to find harmony in their humanity. In particular, seeing how the village children are touched by the project, and that touches my heart. I remember the joy in their eyes the day the first container full of donated items arrived. The village people have so little materially, it’s difficult to put into words how meaningful it is when things arrive that will benefit their lives and improve their education.
I know that for so many of the people who come to Abéné for leadership retreats and humanitarian trips, it’s not only their first time in Africa, but also their first visit to a rural village. It’s the dialogue, sharing and exchanges that happen during these trips that impact me the most.
Pascal Goulpie. Association Secretary and Renewable Energy Consultant
Pascal Goulpié has worked in the renewable energy sector for more than twenty years. During this time, he has participated in many volunteer projects in developing countries and in Switzerland.
His solar awning prototype was honoured by the World Wildlife Federation in 2004. He went on to manage the MS Tûranor Planet Solar, a boat that circumnavigated the globe powered only by photovoltaic (solar) energy – a milestone accomplishment.
Pascal has since worked on initiatives to combat ocean pollution by transforming the plastic and other rubbish clogging our seas into energy. He now focuses on the hydrogen energy vector. “Hydrogen is a booming energy solution,” he says.
Since meeting Doug Manuel at a djembe workshop fifteen years ago, Pascal has been his advisor on energy solutions for development projects and recently traveled with Doug to Abéné to consult with local authorities about renewable energy options for the village. Pascal is a founding member of the Lighting Up Lives association.
Noé Rusconi
Noé Rusconi has been traveling to Senegal with his parents since he was six years old. During his time there he attended primary school and immersed himself in the culture.
As a global citizen his entire high school experience has been rich and varied, and he has studied in Switzerland, the USA and the UK.
He has a deep curiosity for other cultures and believes that it is only through mutual understanding that positive change is possible.
In 2019 he lent unwavering support to the humanitarian trips that Lighting Up Lives organised for families and school teachers looking after the budget, supporting on the ground operations and providing administrative assistance.
PHOTOGRAPHY
Many of the beautiful images on the website are from the talented and generous Tania Emery. To see more of Tania’s work, please visit - https://taniaemery.ch/
To purchase a photo, please contact us here
Our approach is simple…
It starts with you.
Your commitment and donation is our work's lifeblood. Without your support, our mission cannot succeed. When you join our campaign, either by joining us for a leadership retreat or volunteer opportunity or sending a donation, you're helping us build the future of Africa.
Partners in Senegal
We carefully select our partners from local leaders, villagers, and organizations. Together, we focus your contributions where they can make the most difference.
Projects
Health
Abéné's medical centre is led by a single trained nurse and staffed with a team of willing volunteers. Unfortunately, they lack many essentials and have limited access to even basic medication. The unreliable electricity means medicines can't be adequately stored, and women give birth in the dark.
We've started by delivering medical supplies that can facilitate primary care. Eventually, we'll ensure the centre has reliable electricity and an emergency vehicle.
Exchange
We're passionate about growth through cultural exchange. We create regular opportunities for teachers, executives, and business leaders to travel to Abéné. Here, all parties can learn from each other's differences and discover new skills.
Energy
A sustainable energy supply requires more than solar panels. Though your donation helps us provide the hardware needed, our partnerships with energy companies around the globe mean we can train villagers on how to install and maintain the panels themselves.
Education
Like many schools in Africa, Abéné's lacks the resources to invest in teachers, supplies, or facilities.
Teachers pay for the school's sporadic electricity themselves. The ancient photocopier seldom works, and the school's twelve computers are rarely used. Regardless, the children of the village are still desperate to learn.
We send regular shipments of essential supplies like chairs, desks, books, and pencils. Through this and our other projects, we're opening a world of opportunity to Abéné's children.
Employment
Abéné's villagers are able craftsmen, but opportunities to sell their products remain scarce. Our partner program, Djembe! The Show/Do You Speak Djembe, is creating those opportunities.
We're building a manufacturing facility in Abéné that will create employment opportunities for villagers and supply merchandising for the show.
Get Involved
Your donations help us support real, transformative change in Abéné.
