Sam Dargan arrived in Rwanda in early 2003 for a three month visit to assist his cousins in opening a remote off-grid hospital in northern Rwanda.  Those three months became three years, during which time he served as hospital engineer.

He was first introduced to solar PV engineering when attempting to solve the hospital energy challenges. He soon realized that solar PV could dramatically improve the lives of rural villagers.

Dargan also quickly realized that the only way to sustainably deliver the technology to those who most need it most was to create a locally owned and operated for-profit social business model.

Thus Great Lakes Energy was born and has continued to serve Rwanda with a team of Rwandan technicians and strategists.