Electriciens du Monde (EDM)
Who are we?
François Lambert
Member of the Association Electriciens du Monde (EDM),
Director of the mission to the AIM
At the time of the Balkan War in 1995 the EDF (Electricité de France) sent volunteers to Sarajevo to help the re-establishment of the underground electrical system and to form local electricians for this technique. On their return two of these agents decided to use their experience and knowledge to contribute to the improvement of conditions of life of local populations in need, both in France and internationally. So the association Electriciens du Monde was formed with the slogan ‘Solidarity by Skill’. These two agents have successively served as president of the association, one of them, Michel Grassie, is currently president.
Fairly soon the association was asked to bring its skills to help West Africa. Between 1997 and 2006 some of the projects involved were:
• In Benin the electrification of farm schools, the refugee camp of Kpomassé and help for the association Amour sans Frontières.
• In Niger electrification of the dispensary at Keira.
• In Chad the installation of photovoltaic equipment.
• In Haiti the electrification of the village of Saint-Louis-du-Sud.
Since 2007 each project has included the training of local technicians for the maintenance of the equipment. They have taken place in Benin, Togo, Niger, Burkina Faso, Lettonia.
In 2007 the monastery of Benedictine sisters of Saint Scholastica of Dourgne (France) contacted the association to ask them to install an electrical network for the monastery of Emmanuel at Sadori (Togo), which had insufficient capacity for the community and the surrounding population. In the following year three volunteers went out. Financed by one of their industrial partners, this team installed an overhead electrical system to bring together the various buildings of the community.
In 2009 a team electrified the monastery of Sainte-Marie at Bouaké on the Ivory Coast and its food-production centre, as a gift from the association.
In subsequent years teams have worked in Togo and Benin, always keeping to the principle of instructing local people in the maintenance of the systems installed.
The association wishes it to be known that they are open to any proposition concerning electricity in its widest sense. Their activities and skills may be seen by means of their website: http://electriciensdumonde.free.fr
The postal address is
Electriciens du Monde
31 rue de Lisieux
31300 Toulouse
France
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