I was born for do I look for to you
what about her I guess it depends how we
define poor I only realized how
fortunate I was growing up when I
arrived to Africa for the first time
this is when I saw real poverty at that
time I was working for a textile firm
that had several factories across the
continent you see growing up in Israel
it wasn't the same poverty I had shoes I
had food I had a warm bed the children
that I saw outside of the factory didn't
have much no shoes little to no clothes
they look sick
they look malnourished sometimes I used
to take off from work and I wanted to
spend some time in the villages I wanted
to understand what is happening and I
went to villages like this one very
quickly I realized there are two things
happening first people who are hand
healthy and second children were not
educated so one day I went to a nearby
Medical Center and this is what I saw
people waiting people lying on beds
waiting they look desperate so I asked
for the doctor there was no doctor so I
asked for the nurse the nurse came and I
asked her why people are not getting
treatment and she simply said we do not
have vaccines and medicines because we
do not have a fridge and the reason why
we do not have a fridge is because there
is no electricity I went back that
evening people were still waiting at the
nearby room two women were giving birth
in the
dark with candles and kerosene lamps it
doesn't surprise us in case of any
complication when the mothers and the
babies do not survive I went to the
nearby school and here again no
electricity student we're trying to
study with candles and kerosene so the
solution should be simple let's bring
them electricity right it's not that
simple
it's not about one or two villages it's
about a continent we are talking about
54 countries and in most of the
countries most of the population does
not have access to electricity
I wasn't that educated I didn't know
much about energy so I applied for
schools and I was accepted to Columbia
University in New York I went and got my
master's in energy the first year as a
student I realized maybe we don't need
that much maybe only two solar panels we
can bring to that Medical Center and we
could bring them electricity so I went
back I raised some money from friends
not much money and I went back to solar
panels we install on the roof of the
Medical Center we brought them
electricity inside and outside and a
small fridge already the next day people
are coming and getting vaccinations even
a few weeks later a doctor accepted to
move to the village because now it can
take care of the people then we went to
the nearby school and we did the same
very simple had only two solar panels
two solar panels on top of the room and
we brought electricity to all of the
classrooms inside and outside for many
of the students it was the first time
the see light
at night now I guess it was good right
people who are getting vaccinations
children were going to school it was
good yes it was but it wasn't good
enough I forgot something quite
important small but important it sounds
silly to you but it's crucial I forgot
who is going to replace the light bulbs
and it's not about who is going to
replace the light bulb who is going to
pay to replace the light bulbs they
don't have money the student don't have
money the nurse the teachers can we
count on the government no should I fly
from Israel to replace the light bulbs
will that be quite an expensive
lightbulb wouldn't be so how are we
going to find a way for the school and
the Medical Center to generate money so
that they can replace the light bulb
themselves what I'm about to tell you
may surprise you and it surprised me
believe it or not it's true in the
villages they do that of shoes no food
but they have cell phones I couldn't
believe it
where do they charge their cell phones
there is no electricity right so here's
what I find out apparently there is one
guy who is collecting all of the cell
phones and he walks eight miles to
another village where there is no
electricity either but they had a car
and people who are using the car's
battery to charge their cell phones and
pay 10 cents so then I said maybe we
find a solution maybe we can use the
solar energy from the school and the
solar energy from the Medical Center and
let's allow people to come charge their
phones pay 10 cents
and that's it is that a good idea we
started here what's happened after three
days let me tell you they had more money
day they need so this is it
we made it they had enough money to buy
the light bulb himself I went to the US
raised more money
I even founded the organization I'm
still the CEO called innovation Africa I
went back to Africa installed more solar
panels on more schools more medical
centers it was good I was happy but it
wasn't good enough I made a mistake I
was wrong and what I'm about to tell you
it's probably why I'm here in front of
you today one day I went to a school
where we have installed solar energy
there were only few students maybe 300
of them not even 30% of the number of
student that are usually at the school
so I asked the head teachers why the
students are not coming to school for a
day and he simply told me children are
too weak to walk to school there is
famine there is no water and this is
when I realized but maybe all along I
was wrong
what's the point of installing solar
energy on a school when children are too
weak to walk there is no point all along
we were fixing the wrong problem the
root cause of the problem was water the
water people didn't have water this is
what I saw
the reason why people who are Hana LT
and the children uneducated it's because
of the water it was making them sick
we need to fix that now many of you are
probably saying yes but how can we do it
there is no water in Africa right well I
find out that we were all wrong there is
plenty of water in Africa
everywhere where in the aquifers right
right beneath their feet there is plenty
of water yet people who are searching
for water every day for hours the water
is everywhere sometimes 20 meters deep
sometimes 200 meters deep but there is
water what we don't have in Africa is
energy what we need is energy to pump
the water up this is it
through again the solution quite simple
only a few solar panels and we started
this is what we started and we installed
solar water pumping system the first
thing that we did bringing a drilling
machine let's drill find the water we
find the water easily then only a few
solar panels a few solar panels to give
the energy to the pump the pump pumping
the water up to a tank and from the tank
to gravity water goes to taps across the
village 10 of them there was water all
the time everywhere people were happy
and then an extra tank why because from
Israel
I brought drip irrigation now that they
have water let's allow them to grow more
food with less water
no more famine
now I was amazed by how just by bringing
them water we changed the village the
first the children the children were
clean there were not thirsty many of
them were going to school especially
girls they don't have to look for water
anymore
they're not sick anymore but really what
amazed me still does is the
entrepreneurial spirit in the village we
give them water and they made money we
see water the colors blue they saw it as
green and here's some example of the
businesses that they started doing the
first selling fruit and vegetable and
yes it makes sense now they have water
they are growing more food than any
other village the extra they are selling
to other villages they were making money
the second making bricks now that they
have water they can make bricks and
build homes and they were selling bricks
three cents per bricks and then taking
care of livestock selling milk and even
some of them are open bakeries so this
is it just because we gave them access
to water the village people were
healthier more educated and financially
independent as of today February 2016
innovation Africa we have installed
solar energy on one under and four
villages seven countries
and we brought water and access to
electricity to nearly 1 million people
as of today now we even received an
award from the United Nation and I did
mentioned Israel a few time and the
reason why we got the award is because
from Israel I bring a technology that is
allowing us to monitor remotely
everything that is happening we know at
any time every time how much energy is
being produced
how much consumed how much water is
being pumped and if something breaks we
have people on the ground to fix it it's
good it's good but it is not good enough
is it no we haven't done much right
there are still three hundred fifty
million people searching for water in
Africa right now what we have done is
not even a drop in the ocean so here's
what I learned from my experience three
lessons the first sometimes good is not
good enough if good was good enough we
would have not found the root cause
second sometimes the source of the
problem is also the source of the
solution if you think about it in Africa
the Sun was the problem the Sun was the
one drying girl and making people
thirsty but it's also the Sun today that
is allowing people to get water access
to vaccines and to food and in my case
poverty was my problem but poverty was
also my solution because I experienced
poverty
I was able to go understand and I was
pushed to help and the last lesson and
probably the most important it doesn't
take much to help people it doesn't if
you think about it I haven't done much I
didn't invent anything
I brought a solution to a problem that I
recognized everyone can do it it's not
even expensive and most of the time it
is simple it is easy you see the reason
why there is still poverty today anger
in Justices it's not because we do not
have the solution it's because we do not
take enough actions we know what needs
to be done we just need to get it done
and whether or not you want it in this
world we are privileged and with
privilege comes responsibility
people are waiting people are suffering
and we cannot continue and ignore it so
please let's stand up take more action
and let's help those who need us thank
you