U-3ARC U-3ARC Union of Associations of African Actors in Refrigeration and Air Conditioning
U-3ARC Union of Associations of African Actors in Refrigeration and Air Conditioning

Dr. Charity Kpabep: A Teacher, a Legacy, a Continent.

Behind the Dr. Charity Kpabep Award lies a woman whose life story embodies a struggle: the fight for knowledge transfer, excellence, and the recognition of women in a male-dominated field. 

Who was she?

Dr. Charity Kpabep: A Teacher, a Legacy, a Continent.


Dr. Charity Maeleera Kpabep was a Nigerian refrigeration engineer and trainer at a training center in Nigeria. Not a media figure. Not an ivory-tower theorist. A hands-on teacher who, every day, trained young women in the refrigeration and air conditioning trades. She worked with UNIDO as an expert for the Montreal Protocol since 2019. She embodied the quiet conviction that refrigeration is not a man's world, it's a matter of skills. 

Her legacy : an award that inspires the world upon her passing in 2021, U-3ARC chose not to let her name fade away. The Dr. Charity Kpabep Award was born, the first global competition dedicated to women in the cooling and air conditioning (RAC) sector. Every year, female technicians from across Africa tackle demanding technical challenges: diagnostics, repairs, safety, and environmental considerations. 

And Europe followed suit. This African award has been a true source of inspiration. In 2024, in Belfast, the European Video Competition "Women in Cooling" was officially launched. Its founder, Stephen Gill (WRD), confirmed that this European competition was inspired by the Dr. Charity Kpabep Award. Africa didn't follow Europe. Africa led the way.

Each laureate extends her legacy.Today, Aissatou Ly (Senegal) and Mudenge Honest Hope (Rwanda), the 2026 laureates are not just winners. They are the living heirs of Dr. Charity. Every technical video they produce, every diagnosis they present, every young girl they inspire extends her fight. 

The Dr. Charity Kpabep Award is proof that Africa is not only the beneficiary of global initiatives, it is the source. Thank you, Dr. Charity. Your name transcends borders.

Thanks to the Execuive Board of U-3ARC for choosing to pay tribute to her. Because great organizations don't spring up out of thin air. They are built on pillars..