Close to a sixth of the world’s population lives beyond the reach of the electricity grid.

Aashna Aggarwal, Katherine Guo and Danielle Holt are participants in a DukeEngage Independent Project that emerged through a Bass Connections team, Exploration and Design of Student-led International Rural Electricity Access Projects.

They are volunteering for ten weeks with WindAid, a nonprofit based in Trujillo, Peru, where they’re helping to build wind turbines that are distributed to select communities in need of electricity. Once they build the turbines, they will spend the remainder of their DukeEngage time at Playa Blanca, a small fishing village. There, they will assess the impact of the wind turbines while engaging with the community to educate local residents on the importance of the turbines.

The students are helping the organization with a Kickstarter campaign. They’re halfway to their goal of $35,000; consider making a pledge by midnight on Monday, July 4, to support their efforts.

Learn More

• Read the press release, WindAid Launches First “Community Wind Workshop” in Playa Blanca, Peru.
• Explore DukeEngage and Bass Connections in Energy.
• Find out how to get involved in Bass Connections.