Sitting watching the Republican debates the other night on CNN I could only shake my head. Here are people who want to be the leader of the free world yelling and screaming at each other, calling each other liars and trying to “out conserve” each other.
But if you stop, wait for the noise to die down and let people do the right thing, good things can actually get done.
Recently a bill was quietly passed in the House of Representatives and having previously passed the Senate (I know – they actually passed a bill!), is now on its way to President Obama for signature. Called the Electrify Africa Act, it will leverage partnerships with the private sector to bring electricity for the first time to over 50 million people. It will go a long way to end extreme poverty.
I have seen first hand how important this will be. I have visited homes of the Maasai who use wood or charcoal to cook causing their home to fill with smoke that makes my eyes water. And their homes do not have windows so it is so dark that kids cannot study. Bringing light to a village, whether it is by solar, wind or other methods will go a long way to improve the quality of life. Add to that water well projects like the one we recently did and life can greatly improve for people of Africa.
Bravo to Sponsor Rep. Edward Royce and co-sponsor Eliot L. Engel for the great work!