Rotary Club of Camas-Washougal supports solar project in Ghana

Randal Friedman and Deborah Nagano were offered a $400 refund by Elemental Energy earlier this year after the Portland-based company confirmed that one of the solar panels at their Camas residence had died.

But Friedman wasn’t interested in taking the money for himself. Instead, he found a way to turn his minor setback into a major victory for a small village on the other side of the world.

“It was a small problem that opened the door to a whole new opportunity,” he said.

The Rotary Club of Camas-Washougal recently donated $1,000 to Twende Solar, a Portland-based nonprofit organization that’s raising funds to complete a community solar project in Ghana.

The Rotary funding came from Friedman, who offered to match a $1,000 contribution from Elemental Energy to Twende Solar.

“Just like the solar (infrastructure at my house), I did this because I had a problem I needed to resolve, and I wanted to solve it creatively,” said Friedman, a Rotary member. “I wanted it to be meaningful. I kind of feel like I leveraged the loss of power at my house to enable a village.”

Twende Solar is looking to raise $20,000 for the project and has raised $13,000 so far, with another funder considering the remaining amount, Executive Director Robin Swanhuyser said.

The project, which is anticipated to be completed in 2026, will electrify the recently completed Bompaso Community Center in Bompaso, Ghana, home to 600 residents who live without any access to electricity or grid connectivity. Families rely on kerosene and wood for energy, and simple tasks like charging a phone require miles of walking.

Twende Solar will install a solar photovoltaic system with battery storage in partnership with PACE Ghana, a Ghanaian-led nonprofit organization that works with communities in the Oti region of Ghana to improve education and health access. Once installed, the system will provide electricity access for cellphone charging, community gatherings, a library, small-business development and a health clinic.

“This panel they’re putting up is just a little bit bigger than the one I installed,” Friedman said. “It makes you pause when you think that the system on my house could power an entire village’s needs. It’s not a lot of power, but when you have nothing, it’s enormous.”

Twende Solar, which was founded by the owners of Elemental Energy, focuses on delivering electricity to schools and community centers, according to its website. In addition to its Ghana project, it is working in Ecuador and Puerto Rico and previously finished projects in Ethiopia, Peru, Haiti, Guatemala, Colombia, Cambodia and the United States.

“Twende Solar works with community centers and schools to provide electricity access, so this project is absolutely within our mission to empower communities,” Swanhuyser said. “When we first vetted the project, we discovered that it aligns with our mission. This is basically a prime example of the sort of projects that we aspire to align our organization with to do the work that we do.”

Swanhuyser said that her company’s projects can’t move forward without the generosity of individuals like Friedman.

“It was really cool to hear more about the work of the Camas-Washougal Rotary Club and their specific initiatives,” Swanhuyser said. “I was very, very excited, not just for this project but as an opportunity to access a network of concerned citizens who are part of an organization that is committed to supporting these sorts of projects.”

Rotary International recently adopted “protecting the environment” as its seventh “area of focus,” which includes tackling climate change, reducing pollution, and conserving natural resources through local and global service projects.

For the past several years, the Rotary Club of Camas-Washougal has organized volunteers for the Camas Ivy League’s efforts to remove invasive species from local parks and green spaces.

“I have two sons. One is a toddler. I care deeply about the world they will have,” Rotary Club of Camas-Washougal President Diana Rutherford said in a news release. “Rotary does so much good for our community already, and other international projects, including polio eradication. Perhaps supporting this Twende Solar project will inspire other Rotary clubs to look at what they can do for sustainability both locally and beyond.”