Neha Kulkarni of Plainsboro has dedicated her time and effort to combating the difficulty women abroad face in feeding themselves and their family with her Gold Award project, Solar Cookers for Ghana. She has seen poverty in travels to both India and Brazil.
As part of her project, Kulkarni has organized a Solar Cookers for Ghana Flea Market on Saturday, July 28, from 8 a.m. to noon at High School North. Proceeds from the gently used household goods sold at the flea market will be used for materials to make solar cookers that Kulkarni will bring to Accra, Ghana, on a trip this August.
“Solar cooking works by directing the rays of the sun on to one centered focal point, thus heating food that needs to be cooked, or water that needs to be pasteurized,” Kulkarni explains. “The benefits of solar cooking are clear — it’s a free source, it’s safe, and the cooking device is easy to make with foil, cardboard, glue, and scissors.”
Born in Mumbai, India, Kulkarni has lived in Plainsboro for 13 years. Her parents, Anant and Nutan Kulkarni, work in the pharmaceutical industry. Her brother, Nikhil, 23, graduated from High School North in 2007, earned a degree in mechanical engineering from UCLA, and works at BMW.
Kulkarni is a rising senior at High School North, where she has been on the school’s debate league for the past four years. She recently placed in the top six (out of 100) in a Princeton Moot Court competition. She also does solicitation and donation procurement for March of Dimes and volunteers at the Hamilton Grove Rehabilitation Center. A Girl Scout for more than 10 years, she is in Troop 71490 with leaders Diane Hasling, who is also her Gold Project adviser, and Becky Grant.
Kulkarni began combating poverty abroad as a middle school student. In eighth grade she addressed key issues of illiteracy abroad with her Silver Award, a project that provided more than 1,800 books to lesser developed countries like Botswana, Cambodia, Swaziland, and Uganada.
Today, her Gold Award furthers her dreams of continuing the battle against international poverty. “When beginning my Gold Award, I wanted to make my project as powerful and impactful as possible,” Kulkarni says. “I wanted to address poverty internationally, because fundamentally, it’s more severe than almost any other issue.”
She was also interested in a project that would provide more than temporary relief. “I expected to address the cause directly and permanently,” she says.
“According to international studies, millions of women abroad walk miles to find fuel to heat their food; in fact, in some regions of Africa, women spend up to five hours a day collecting fuel and up to four hours preparing it with the traditional cooking fire,” says Kulkarni. “I’m looking to put an end to that through the alternative of solar cooking — a clean, harmless, and free method of cooking that can replace the traditional cooking fire and its noxious effects.”
During her trip to Ghana she will hold workshops to teach the village women how to make solar cookers and provide them with the materials to continue making them over the years as a sustainable resource in their life. She will also volunteer as a tutor in rural villages. She will travel with the help of Joy2theWorld, a micro-financing organization in Ghana.
Kulkarni invites community members to get involved with Solar Cookers for Ghana through donations, spreading awareness about the issue, and especially selling and buying at the flea market. Call Kulkarni if interested in selling at the flea market or donating gently used items at 609-218-7490.
