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WE CARE Solar

Women’s Emergency Communication and Reliable Electricity

A group of people standing indoors, posing for a group photo. The group includes both men and women of diverse backgrounds. One woman in the front is holding a yellow case and a poster with illustrations and text, possibly explaining a project or device.

The Challenge

Lack of reliable electricity results in inadequate obstetric care for pregnant mothers and their offspring in the developing world, contributing to morbidity and mortality.

The Technology Approach

The durable and portable “We Care Solar Suitcase” provides power for medical LED lighting, cell phones, and battery charging for fetal dopplers and headlamps – reducing delays and increasing capacity of providing emergency obstetric care.

2013 Updates

We Care Solar aims to expand by deploying networks of Solar Suitcases in specific regions, partnering with Ministries of Health and NGOs to enhance health care delivery. The engineering team is working to improve the suitcase design through increased battery life, higher performance LEDs, and an integrated PC board. Additionally, a recently launched Solar Ambassador program has trained women to lead installations and international trainings.

Lead Researcher

Laura E. Stachel, MD, MPH, DrPH Candidate

Field Location(s)

Western, Central, and Eastern Africa; Central America, Haiti, Asia

[button link=”http://wecaresolar.org/” text=”Website”] [button link=”https://www.facebook.com/WeCareSolar” text=”Facebook”]

Caliber Mag Profiles #GlobalPOV Story Artist

A person wearing a red and yellow striped beanie and a white shirt sits at a cluttered desk, engrossed in doodling in a sketchbook. The desk is scattered with various items, including a keyboard, a cup, a water bottle, and papers. On the wall in front of the person, there are handwritten notes and reminders. The sketchbook features detailed drawings and diagrams, and the person is holding a pen, actively drawing. The image is overlaid with the text "LEARNING THROUGH DOODLES."

Caliber, a UC Berkeley general interest magazine, featured the #GlobalPOV story artist, Abby VanMuijen, and her popular DeCal course in its Spring 2013 edition (Issue 7). According to VanMuijen:

I like to leave information up in a cloud in my head, and take each piece down one-by-one, and draw it out.

. . .

It’s empowering to turn this hobby into something that other people can use. I really believe that visual notetaking is something that everyone can learn. People from all majors and paths of life take this DeCal, and the class is structured in a way that everyone can gain something out of it.”

To read the full article, click here.

“The World Is Not Round…”

One fall 2011 afternoon, while sitting/doodling/not sleeping in Prof. Roy’s “Global Poverty: Challenges and Hopes in the New Millennium” class, student Abby VanMuijen ditched her live-action note-taking for a moment and scribbled down a series of words instead. (Abby can spell, say wha?) The words were Abby’s response to Thomas Friedman’s “the world is flat” assertion. A year later, her words inspired the #GlobalPOV team, not to mention our logo:

Close-up of a person’s hands manipulating a customized Rubik's Cube. The cube has a green and white color scheme with letters on its tiles. The letters visible in the image form partial words, with "POT" and "BAL" being discernible.

And all this time, I thought the world was round.
The world is not round.
It has edges we can fall from and faces staring
in entirely different directions.
And I thought the world was huge, but it is not — it’s in our hands.
We can hold it, change it, turn it, shake it.
We can solve it, but not by sheer luck or chance.
We must be taught the way.”

— Abby VanMuijen, U.C. Berkeley ’12

Host and Fellow Responsibilities

Host Organizations

  • Identify staff supervisor to manage I&E Climate Action Fellow
  • Submit fellowship description and tasks
  • Engage in the matching process
  • Mentor and advise students
  • Communicate with Berkeley program director and give feedback on the program.

Berkeley Program Director​

  • Communicate with host organizations, students, and other university departments to ensure smooth program operations

Student Fellows

  • Complete application and cohort activities
  • Communicate with staff and host organizations
  • Successfully complete assignments from host organization during summer practicum
  • Summarize and report summer experience activities post-fellowship