ABOUT POWER UP GAMBIAClick on a question to learn more.

Power Up Gambia is a not-for-profit organization founded in 2006 dedicated to providing electricity and water to healthcare facilities in The Gambia through the use of solar energy.

Power Up Gambia is a non-profit organization organized under the sponsorship of a community foundation.

The Delaware Community Foundation, a 501(c)3 non-profit organization, serves as our fiscal sponsor. The Delaware Community Foundation provides fund management for Power Up Gambia by accepting donations, managing fund monies, and dispersing monies as requested by our Board of Directors. Through the Delaware Community Foundation’s incredible support, we can focus on our mission: providing reliable solar power for The Gambia.

After Kathryn Hall returned from a 2006 volunteering trip to The Gambia, during which she worked at the Sulayman Junkung General Hospital (SJGH), she decided to raise the funds for the solar panels for the hospital. Her enthusiasm attracted others to organize around the 20-year-old’s mission.

Kathryn lives by the simple motto: “Nothing is impossible.”

Kathryn grew up in Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania. She attended Archmere Academy for high school in Claymont, Delaware and graduated in 2004 as the class president and recipient of the Archmere Award, the highest recognition awarded to a graduating senior. In 2008, Kathryn received a BA in biology from the University of Pennsylvania with minors in chemistry and nutrition. Kathryn is currently a medical student at University of Pennsylvania and lives in Philadelphia with her husband, Michael Hall.

Kathryn’s interest in traveling to Africa developed from listening to her father, Scott Cunningham, recount adventures from his Peace Corps experience in West Africa. She attributes her interest in non-profits to her mother, Carol Cunningham, who has always been actively involved in the community non-profit efforts. Kathryn’s involvement in Girl Scouts also played an important role in developing her passion for community service. She received her Gold Award, the highest honor in Girl Scouting, for her volunteer work at a local community center.

Founding Power Up Gambia was inevitable for Kathryn after witnessing the struggles of both the staff and patients at the Sulayman Jungkung General Hospital during summer volunteer experience. She continues to dedicate as much time to Power Up Gambia as her academic schedule will allow. Through her graduate education and future career she hopes to further improve healthcare in The Gambia and West Africa.

We believe that grassroots efforts that stay connected to their projects for the long term are the most effective. We keep our operating budget small to maximize the impact of your donation. We believe in solar power and equity in medicine – and we volunteer our time to make the biggest impact that we can.

Power Up Gambia was founded with the mission of providing the Sulayman Junkung General Hospital with electricity. After much discussion with researchers and industrial experts, we realized that we had a viable solution to this hospital’s energy problems: solar power.

After working for two years to raise the funds to provide this hospital with solar panels, we realized that the need for electricity at other healthcare facilities extends well past this one hospital. We decided to expand our effort to help the satellite clinics of the Sulayman Junkung General Hospital. We encourage clinics to come to PUG and let us know why they need solar energy. We believe that we can improve the sustainability of our projects by having the the communities we serve initiate the project.