January 2015- Tanzania

Project Light Up One’s Life – Part 2. With the generous donations from friends and family in November 2013 and the matching of funds by One Million Lights, Jane Oyugi and Mark Collins were able to have a second solar light distribution to schools in Bugandika, Tanzania. On November 25, 2014, Jane and Mark distributed 192 solar lights to students at Kababara Primary School and Bugandika Secondary School. We worked with the principals of both schools to determine how best to distribute the lights since we did not have enough solar lights for all the students. In the secondary school, we distributed solar lights to all the girls in the first year of high school and the rest of the boys in that class. In the primary school, most of the girls in grades 1 through 6 were given lights and the remaining to some boys in those grades.

It was observed that the girls in the village spend most of the time after school fetching water from the river since there is no running water, collecting wood for cooking and helping out with house chores. By the time the girls are ready to do homework at night, they either have no light to study with or if they have a kerosene lantern, they are subjected to its horrible fumes that cause respiratory illness and they cannot study long hours. The solar lights provide the students with more effective light and studying conditions.