Solar lights

N4BW has now provided Solar Powered lights and phone charging kits to more than 3000 homes in the Sitima Area. The people of Sitima have no other source of light and therefore go to bed when it gets dark shortly after 6 o’clock!

N4BW has produced a scheme where people rent a unit for 51 weeks and then purchase with a final payment. Damian Wynne who has established the scheme said “We surveyed people in the villages to ascertain how much they could afford to pay per week a light. We then came up with a scheme to meet a reasonable budget.

I was approached by a lady this morning so full of thanks that she has one of the lights. She jokingly said that the only trouble is that she is now staying up too late and is sleeping in in the morning. She told me that her grandchildren are now able to spend time reading and doing their homework. The scheme has established the principle of people being helped but also of them contributing. This means that they will value and look after what they have.

The weekly income is paying the three agents who are working on the scheme and will purchase further lights to sell. Damian said “this may sound like a small thing but it is a life-changing thing to have light for the first time. If you don’t think so, just try living without electricity for a day and experience how much your life shrinks".