Solar for Schools: Beating the Heat for Jacobabad

Thanks to your generous contributions, the Community Development Foundation (CDF) raised $136 through GlobalGiving, and every single dollar was immediately put to work! We utilized these funds to purchase and install a solar panel and an AC/DC energy-efficient fan in a classroom at our Adolescent and Adult Learning and Training Program (AALTP) center. Established by CDF in 2017, this non-formal school provides an accelerated 18-month primary education pathway—condensing 5 years of syllabus into a Grade 5 equivalency—for girls who missed out on early schooling due to extreme poverty and cultural barriers.

For 14-year-old Farzana, who dropped out of school years ago to help her family before joining the AALTP program, learning under Jacobabad’s brutal heatwaves was an uphill battle. "When the power went out, the classroom became an oven, and we couldn't concentrate on our books," Farzana shares. Today, the new solar setup provides uninterrupted electricity during school hours, powering the cooling fan continuously regardless of local load-shedding. Farzana and 19 of her classmates in this classroom can now focus entirely on their lessons without suffering from oppressive indoor heat.

While this project currently serves 20 girls in this newly equipped space, our center has a total enrollment of 165 eager students. The remaining classrooms are still waiting for similar cooling facilities as we work to expand solar relief across the entire school. Your support has proven that even a modest donation creates an immediate, life-changing impact, restoring dignity, comfort, and educational opportunity to young girls who fought so hard for a second chance at learning. Thank you for empowering these future leaders!