Now 24 and married, Cunningham Hall is a third-year medical student at the University of Pennsylvania, enduring a regimen that barely allows time for sleep. But her West African aid mission powers on through a Philadelphia-based nonprofit that Cunningham Hall founded in 2006.
Power Up Gambia so far has raised nearly $500,000. About $300,000 of that has funded the installation of a 12-kilowatt solar and battery-backup system that now guarantees the availability of electricity 24/7 to 65 percent of Sulayman Jungkung hospital.
Other projects are in the works, including job training so that Gambia's people can maintain the solar systems that are installed.
"A huge blessing" is how Sulayman Jungkung's chief executive officer, Kebba Badgie, described the solar
system that has saved lives in his hospital and delivered predictability - and so much more.
But he reserved the highest praise for Cunningham Hall, speaking with an awe and reverence afforded saviors. For in his eyes, she is one.
"Kathryn is an angel in human form," Badgie said. "Kathryn has made the hopeless be hopeful."
His list of what a reliable energy source has meant to his hospital is long - the ability to perform surgeries and run ventilators at any time, to safely store blood and drugs, to be able to have high-speed Internet. That, he said, will enhance the education of medical students and help attract and retain more staff.
"Solar," Badgie said, "is the answer to quality health-care delivery."
Cunningham Hall considers her charitable work not in heroic terms, but as a life decision that should come naturally to anyone who learns of a need.
