Day 12: Lights for Students in Rural Africa

Today, I am continuing my theme of literacy. There is an organization, called Lights for Life International, that provides the opportunity for children in Rwanda to learn and prosper through reading.

The mission statement of Lights for Life states that, "Lights for Life (LFL) International is a non-profit organization dedicated to providing rechargeable lights to school-aged children in impoverished areas allowing them to read and study after dark."

When darkness falls in a place similar to Rwanda, the darkness is just about complete. the light sources are sometimes limited to fires, or kerosene lamps, which burn expensive fuel. These current lighting sources cause severe respiratory illness; the World Bank estimates that breathing kerosene fumes is the equivalent of smoking two packs of cigarettes each day. For the students of the camps in Rwanda, the national exam is the only way out of poverty, so it's important that these kids are given as much time as they need to study, and without light, a student's chances of doing well are extremely limited.

LFL gives small, clean, rechargeable lights to students in the camps. Each LED provides 37 hours of light after just 20 minutes of charging. Up to 5 lights can be recharged at the same time with a pedal generator.

Personally, I don't think that this small problem should be able to hold a student back form being able to succeed in life; if a student has enough ambition to dare to get out of one of these camps, I think that child at least deserves a somewhat fair chance. I don't think I've actually ever thought about how nice it is that I can turn on my bedside lamp whenever I want to. Maybe that shows how sheltered I am, or maybe that shows how bad the kids in Rwanda have it. It's probably part of both, but I doubt you've ever been grateful for having a light at night, either. It actually seems very simple; if a student wants to learn, every effort possible should be made towards helping that student succeed, especially when the student is facing as much difficult as he/she already is.

To donate, please visit this page on the Literacy Site. Thanks for reading!