Welcome to the
Youths & Environmental Advocacy Centre UK
Funding the work of YEAC Nigeria to implement renewable electricity in the Niger Delta region.
Why we exist
The Youths and Environmental Advocacy Centre (YEAC) UK is a registered non-for-profit company limited by guarantee.
It was set up to serve two main purposes. Firstly, to raise grant funding to cover the capital requirements to implement Solar PV mini-grids that will deliver reliable, renewable and affordable electricity to communities in the Niger Delta. Secondly, to provide the needed Governance to manage the programme of installations and reinvest revenues benefiting communities.
The YEAC UK has a community focused and non-extractive business model that is, from the outset, working exclusively on behalf of, and to benefit communities. The objective is for the programme to be financially self-sustainable as fast as possible.
The YEAC UK is as such a key delivery partner to YEAC Nigeria in their campaign against oil theft, artisanal refining and pollution.
For over half a century, Shell, the Nigerian Government, and other parties have explored and subsequently extracted oil in the Niger Delta.
There have been few measurable financial benefits to the local population, however significant negative environmental, social, and economic consequences have occurred since oil exploration began. For example, the oil contamination of rivers and demolition of mangroves has destroyed traditional livelihoods and led to a weak, and unstable local economy. In addition to the oil pollution, continuous flaring is still degrading the air quality and creating dangerous living conditions for millions. Compounding these issues is the tragic irony that, after more than 50 years of supplying vast amounts of energy in the form of oil & gas to the world, access to electricity in the Niger Delta is still intermittent, expensive, and unreliable.
Home to one in six sub-Saharan Africans, Nigeria is the most populous country on the continent. It is considered a powerhouse and has Africa’s most boisterous democracy.
About 40million people live in the Niger Delta, many in semi-urban and rural areas where access to the national grid is rare.
Self-generation of energy is thus common and typically met by the use of diesel generators. There is some solar power during the day, however, due to lack of storage capacity, generators are often used to continue energy supply during the evenings and nights. More often than not, these generators are fueled by illegally obtained oil from the local area.
While regulated oil extraction operations are continuing to impact the Niger Delta adversely through previous and ongoing spills, a significant proportion of the oil pollution in the area is related to illegal oil refining activities. It is estimated about 2,200 people, primarily young people in the Ogoni region alone, are presently involved with the practice of artisanal refining.
yeac uk
our role
To break the dependency on fossil fuels in the Niger Delta and provide opportunities for communities to improve their local economies, the YEAC UK and YEAC Nigeria are rolling out a programme of Solar PV mini-grids in hard-to-reach communities in the Niger Delta region. This approach is distinctive and is uniquely positioned to:
Ensure successful and effective community and community leader engagement
Scale fast through the creation of a ‘pipeline’ of viable and feasible projects
Quickly identify and support productive use initiatives in the communities served
Be the link between communities, funders, and other partners identifying ancillary business opportunities
Better serve as the local project management partner where needed
Ensure the project is benefiting all stakeholders with particular focus on generating transferable skills in local communities
Maintain its focus on the community benefits due to its non-for-profit nature
meet the team
Helena
Farstad
Fyneface
Dumnamne Fyneface
Serena
Wong
Noo
Saro-Wiwa
Get in touch
If this has inspired you and you would like to discuss opportunities to support our work, we would love to hear from you.