{"id":43037,"date":"2019-05-20T23:35:47","date_gmt":"2019-05-21T03:35:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/staging21.finca.org\/uncategorized-en-ca\/lighting-up-education-in-rural-africa-with-the-solar-lamp-library-initiative"},"modified":"2024-11-04T02:06:59","modified_gmt":"2024-11-04T07:06:59","slug":"lighting-up-education-in-rural-africa-with-the-solar-lamp-library-initiative","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/finca.org\/en-ca\/lighting-up-education-in-rural-africa-with-the-solar-lamp-library-initiative","title":{"rendered":"Lighting Up Education in Rural Africa with the Solar \u201cLamp Library\u201d Initiative"},"content":{"rendered":"
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FINCA International\u2019s BrightLife is piloting a new initiative that brings solar lanterns to rural schools in Uganda. The project, led by FINCA UK with funding from a FINCA UK supporter and the Signify Foundation, allows students to use solar lanterns in school and borrow them to take home\u2014much like you would borrow a book from a library\u2014to facilitate evening studying for off-grid households.<\/em><\/p>\n

Off-Grid Students are at a Disadvantage Compared to their On-Grid Peers<\/h2>\n

When the sun sets across most of sub-Saharan Africa,\u00a0where two-thirds of the population has no access to electricity<\/a>, the school day ends and learning stops. For an entire half day, students and teachers must suspend academic activities\u2014reading, homework, tutoring, grading\u2014until the natural light returns in the morning.<\/p>\n

Rural areas are the least connected to the electrical grid, yet their schools and students must compete for results with their more connected urban counterparts. For those lucky to be on-grid, the electricity is often unreliable and expensive, while few alternatives exist. Countries like Uganda have committed to improving educational access and outcomes for all children, but grid and other infrastructural constraints continue to pose the biggest handicap to rural schools.<\/p>\n

To contribute to efforts to level the playing field for these rural schools, FINCA UK has joined hands with one of its supporters and the\u00a0Signify Foundation<\/a>\u00a0to bring a solar energy program, known as \u201cLamp Library,\u201d to schools in developing countries. The project is piloting in\u00a0Uganda\u00a0<\/a>through FINCA International\u2019s clean energy social enterprise,\u00a0BrightLife<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The Lamp Library Helps to Create a Level Playing Field<\/h2>\n

The project identifies a selection of schools in peri-urban and rural areas that have little or no access to electricity and retrofits them to house 100 solar lamps per school. In the selection process, BrightLife meets with the school faculty, students and parents to introduce the project and gauge local community support. Students in selected schools will be able to use lamps on-campus and have the option to also take them home for evening study.<\/p>\n

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