We are bringing clean energy solutions to a school district in Southwestern Uganda which has over 1,600 students, many of whom are orphans. Though we have provided clean cooking fuel and cook stove options to the schools, the students are still badly in need of lighting. Without lighting, the work day ends at sundown, which means very little time for homework or studying. The solar lights will greatly improve the quality of education and provide security for the students/staff of the schools.
The Rubaare Education Foundation educates more than 1600 students, many of whom are poor or orphans. Many of the students must travel significant distances to attend school so they end up boarding at the school. The school buildings are not wired for electricity, so lighting options are limited to kerosene or candles. This makes it very difficult to study or do homework, and teachers are unable to use classrooms after dark. Students/staff lose 4-5 hours of productive time a day to darkness.
This project will provide lighting for classrooms, dormitories, assembly rooms and staff offices at REF. In keeping with our mission to provide clean energy solutions, the lighting will be provided by a roof-based solar system. In the first stage, the main campus which houses the high school and vocational school will be lit. In subsequent stages, the adjacent primary schools will be supplied with solar systems. The solar lights will greatly enhance quality of education for the REF students.
This project will greatly expand the learning potential of the students at REF as they will have an opportunity to study in their dorms or classrooms and have additional evening hour instruction. So the school can earn income to cover system maintenance, a cell-phone charging kiosk will be installed. This will save community members travel time/money and encourage entrepreneurship at the school. In addition, local workers will be trained to maintain the system, developing valuable skills.
This project has provided additional documentation in a DOCX file (projdoc.docx).
