Provide solar lanterns to poor school children

This year was especially challenging, but in spite of the pandemic we’ve continued to provide our very capable yet inexpensive solar lanterns to those in need both here at home and overseas. This year our recipients have included children in orphanages in Sierra Leone and Cameroon in addition to our regular program of distributing solar lanterns to the homeless here in Washington, DC, as well as Maryland, Ohio, Kentucky, Oklahoma, Puerto Rico, and other places where we have partners to help us with the expenses. Our partners, Jean-Yves Dalle of Sunlight to the Rescue and Ambreen Rizvi of Brigade of Mercy, covered the distribution and other overhead for the two orphanages. SEI pays only for the lanterns themselves and the costs associated with shipping them to the US. Once here, they are stored at no cost to us at the Salvation Army warehouse in Hyattsville, MD. That means that every donation to SEI has the maximum possible impact. In fact, a donation of only $10 can provide three small lanterns. And $13 can buy one of the larger models with a separate solar panel and a USB port for charging cell phones.

We've attached pictures of the happy and grateful children who can now study after the sun has gone down. The orphanage in Douala, Cameroon is the Orphanage Of La Miséricorde Divine Sainte Faustine. In Sierra Leone, the solar lights support an orphanage and day school named Sonnia House in Mattru Jong District. There are 130 children who come daily there while 30 or so live there. There are no lights in the orphanage. The solar lights help to light the eight rooms which host the kids. The bigger lanterns help in the living room and the smaller ones help in the bedrooms so children can do homework and read. They help the orphanage with lighting in general. 

Links:

• The Solar Empowerment Initiative Inc