One Million Lights Joins Zulufadder Children’s Trust to Distribute Lights to Schools Without Electricity

August 18, 2014
Original article here

Learners’ faces from schools in KwaZulu-Natal lit up with excitement when they received safe, rechargeable solar lights from One Million Lights in partnership with Energizer® South Africa during August to set their futures alight.

One Million Lights, a six-year-old USA-based non-profit, distributed lights to schools and surrounding communities without electricity. “It is moving to see how something as fundamental as light can bring so much joy,” says One Million Lights board member, Sierra Fan.

The learners at Enqoleni Education Centre, Habeni Primary School, Matheku High School and Mguqu Primary in KwaZulu-Natal were the recipients of approximately 2000 solar Energizer® torches recently. This distribution forms part of a larger initiative seeing a total of 7000 lights distributed amongst selected schools in Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal. It was this not for profits’ first visit to South Africa and the highest single distribution in the organisations’ history.

“We believe that these lights will assist the learners to focus on their studies and perform better academically by making it possible for learning to last long after the sun has gone down,” says Rashmi Vadivelu, senior brand manager for Energizer® South Africa.

Amongst the selected KwaZulu-Natal schools, One Million Lights and Energizer® South Africa also shared their lights with the Zulufadder Children’s Trust. The Zulufadder project supports 975 orphans and vulnerable children as well as 450 families that house and support the children in their own communities. The Rotary Club of Eshowe also supports and assists the project.

As part of an ongoing partnership with One Million Lights, Zulufadder Children’s Trust will continue to distribute lights to the remainder of vulnerable children, supported by the Zulufadder project. These distributions will coincide with food parcel distributions that are done on the first and second Saturday of each month.

Silvia Phillips, project manager of Zulufadder Children’s Trust is very excited about the difference that these lights will make in the lives of these children. “There is no way to describe the deep sense of satisfaction I experience when I see a happy, healthy child competing as an equal with his or her peers,” says Phillips.

To date, the One Million Lights campaign has distributed over 55 000 safe, rechargeable solar lights around the world, replacing dangerous and polluting kerosene lamps in areas that do not have access to electricity.

If one would like to support One Million Lights and make a donation to bring light to more communities that live without electricity, visit onemillionlights.org or email .

If one would like to support Zulufadder Children’s Trust and make a donation to improve the well-being of orphans and vulnerable children in Zululand, visit www.zulufadder.org or phone Silvia Phillips on 082 550 5000.

For more information about One Million Lights, visit onemillionlights.org. Alternatively, visit and like One Million Lights’ Facebook page here, and follow @millionlights on Twitter.

For more information about Energizer and its That’s Positivenergy activities, visit www.energizer.co.za. Alternatively, visit and like Energizer’s Facebook page, here.

For more information about Zulufadder Children’s Trust, visit www.zulufadder.org. Alternatively, visit and like the Facebook page of Zulufadder Children’s Trust here.