Solar Lamps!
Saturday, August 20, 2011
One of our very generous donors had this amazing idea for our students. Yesterday each Kopila kid received a solar lamp!!! The energy around school was awesome. We had a big open house and a school wide meeting for distribution. Kids were cheering and clapping and parents' and guardians' eyes all lit up when they saw the lamps. There was so much buzz around the entire neighborhood. People were even coming up to me asking where they could buy one.
With no electricity up to 12 hours a day/night it can be really hard for our students to study and do homework, and chores; especially the ones who have jobs before and after school. Mornings and evenings are a valuable time for our kids to cut grass for animals, carry water and collect firewood. When these D.light lamps are charged in the sun, they can be used 8 hours every night, eliminating reliance on candles and kerosene lamps. I'm so excited about where this gift will take our students and their families and for once I won't have to hear the excuse that "there wasn't any electricity" when the naughty little ones don't do their homework.
This is the first time we've ever tried anything like this and we put a lot of time and thought into a contract that each of our students and their guardians had to sign. The lamps are technically on loan but they can earn them over the course of the next few years with regular attendance, good grades, and behaviour. It's a little experiment-trial that I'm incredibly stoked about.
Check out the D.light website here. This company has been VERY patient, professional and good to us and for anyone whose running a school in a remote area with electrical issues I would highly recommend this brand.
Check out some pictures from yesterday! As my children always love to say "HIP HIP HOORAY!"
