Solar Lighting for 120 Displaced People in Burma

Having successfully raised enough funds to buy solar lanterns for the residents' homes at this Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camp in Shan State, Burma, we are still in the process of trying to reach our funding goal. Once we have reached our target, we will then be able to install solar panels for lighting in the camp's school and also to power computers. By doing so, it will have a significant impact on the education of the youth of this community.

If the school has light after dark, then the children can study together and evening classes can be held when necessary. This will enable them to make the most of the educational opportunities that are available to them at this current time. By providing access to computers with the use of solar energy, the students will have access to what many people take for granted. They will be able to learn how to use computer programmes such as Word, Excel and PowerPoint as well as having the ability to use the Internet. By introducing students to the wealth of knowledge available on the Internet, we are sure that their knowledge will be heightened, their horizons expanded and opportunities increased.

Mwe Hkur, an expert in the field of education for Shan youth, had the following to say about the current conditions for the students when we first started this project:

"Students at this school have never learned anything through multimedia in their life due to the lack of electricity. They normally end up studying in dark rooms with low quality textbooks."

We hope, with your help, to change this and to achieve our objective of increasing the educational standards in this remote community.

We sincerely hope you consider helping us reach our funding target by either donating again or by telling your friends and family about this project.

With gratitude,

Tom Rosen and The Branch Foundation Team

Links:

• The Branch Foundation's website
• Find us on Facebook

Firstly, The Branch Foundation team would like to wish you a happy Earth Day 2015. This is a day for us to pause and look at our impact on this precious planet which we all share. For many people across the world, renewable energy solutions are not just a choice but a necessity due to where they live. This is true for the community at Loi Lum Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camp, where there is no access to the electrical grid, thus the residents used to rely on kerosene lamps and candles to light their homes.

Fortunately, with the help of generous people such as yourself, we have managed to bring clean and efficient solar lighting to each household which has since increased safety within the camp and also allowed children to study and adults to continue working into the night. However, we are still short of our goal of supplying a solar system to the community's school so that the children have enough energy to power computers. Access to information technology will not only help the kids to study for existing subjects but it will also introduce them to computing skills which are vital in today's world.

The Branch Foundation installed a solar system for a computer in a refugee camp in 2012, which enabled reliable access to this resource by both the children and adults of this community. Sai Oo, the computer teacher at the time, told us the following in an email he wrote on that same computer:

"All the people in the camp benefit from the solar powered computer. You and your supporters have helped protect the environment, save on electrical bills and support education therefore we would like to thank you very much."

We would be extremely grateful, if on this important day, you choose to help this community with your 'act of green' by either donating again or telling your friends and family about this project.

Sincerely,

Tom Rosen and The Branch Foundation Team