Give the gift of light & help educate children

Pitch-black darkness during childbirth in Zimbabwe

While living and working in the field many years ago I discovered the reality of living in energy poverty, and what this means in all areas of life. I will never forget the reality of childbirth in these conditions.  

Mothers with broken waters often walk all day or night to reach birthing suites to receive midwife support during labour, but the conditions when they reach them do not bring much comfort. As Zimbabwe faces highly regular power outages, the facilities experience blackouts that can last for hours. Can you imagine what it feels like to give birth in total pitch-black darkness?  

Speaking to midwives on the ground, I learned that during these blackouts, the only lighting is from toxic kerosene lanterns, phone lights held by midwives in their mouths, or very poor-quality solar lanterns. 

Last month our NGO partner on the ground, Cambodia Rural Students Trust (CRST), distributed 355 lights to children from Khnar Krav Primary School. This is a school among many that lacks access to electricity, limiting the opportunity for studying after the sun sets. 

CRST have a mission that strongly aligns with our own to break the cycle of poverty for Cambodian students through education. Providing students with light is an essential part of that.

Limited access to electricity can lead to children leaving school early, as less study time as well as economic pressures to work can leave students unmotivated. We hope to change this for rural students by gifting solar lights, inspiring them to stay motivated, continue their studies and break the cycle of poverty.  

It is not lost on me that energy poverty is experienced by children in Australia, predominantly in remote indigenous communities. Last month, we delivered our Make 2, Keep 1, Gift 1 program to students at Bwcgolman Community School on Palm Island. This sees students build two lights, one for their own families and one to send to a ‘buddy’ overseas.  

Andy Martin, the Education Program Coordinator at SolarBuddy was joined by a team of wonderful volunteers from our valued partner TechnologyOne to deliver the program. Andy shared a particularly confronting story about the trip, about how a young students’ family of 5 had been removed from their accomodation, and was sleeping in a tent on the beach with no electricity access. He noted how the light this student built would bring dignity to their family.

Thank you for your continued support of our mission to illuminate the lives of children across the world.

Wishing you a safe, happy and healthy end of year and festive season.

Simon Doble

Founder and Global CEO

Lights illuminating lives in Cambodia

It is essential that we address both the social and environmental factors of this climate emergency simultaneously. We must do this at scale and we must do it now.

Please consider donating today to end extreme energy poverty.

 

Ring that bell!!

For me personally, one of the most exciting moments in what we do is moments like these, when so many people have come together, including people like you, to ensure 3000 lights can start their journey to children in Papua New Guinea.  

Our partner, PNG Gulf Association of Queensland, will make sure these arrive safely into the hands of children who need them. In the Gulf Province of PNG, remote villages and towns have little to no energy infrastructure. A light from us will have an immediate positive impact, providing light to study and also security and comfort for children moving around villages at night.  

Lights leaving SolarBuddy

Arriving to one of SolarBuddy's NGO partners in Papua New Guinea

Meet StudentBuddy

Something I am extremely proud of happened recently. 

The team attended the Design and Technology Teachers Association Conference, to launch our brand-new product, StudentBuddy. 

From 2012-2015 I spent time living across different regions in Africa, learning in the field, how energy poverty affects children. While the lighting was obviously a main factor, something I expected less was how important the charging of devices is.

I saw firsthand how children, and often girls, were forced to walk long distances and pay large amounts to charge their families’ devices in town. This took away from their learning time at school, and often put them in dangerous situations. As a result, StudentBuddy was designed, developed, and now launched, which provides not only solar lighting but two USB charging ports!

Let's talk about Sustainable Development Goals

I made it my mission to make sure all our actions here at SolarBuddy are aligned to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs), an agreement for which we should all strive, to reach peace and equality for all people and the planet by 2030 and onward. As a valued donor, you have shown you are individually taking steps to reach this, and I couldn’t be more grateful that people like you exist.  

Through our mission of gifting millions of lights to children living in energy poverty, we strongly align with  Goal #3, Good Health and Well-being for all. Here's why.....  

• A staggering 3.8 million people die each year from illnesses caused by exposure to toxic sources of light, and 32% of them are children under 5! 

• Mothers and young children are far more at risk of developing these illnesses, due to spending more time indoors completing domestic duties. 

• Mothers who are exposed to indoor air pollutants are at a far higher risk of delivering babies with abnormal and fatal lung conditions. 

The positive news? Just one of solar light, generously gifted through the support of people like you, positively impacts the health of a family of 5 – it offsets 166 CO2kgs of toxic and pollutive carbon emissions, and has the potential to improve the health of women and children by 60%! 

Do you want to help deliver on the UN SDGs and see future generation thrive? Please consider donating today.