This holiday season, SELF is raising awareness for the important role of light in our lives. This article explores why lighting classrooms can revolutionize education in energy-poor places.
The Katansama School in Colombia had ambitious students, dedicated teachers, and a supportive classroom environment, but it was missing one crucial thing: electricity.
This school belonged to the Indigenous Arhuaco people, who had recently reclaimed their ancestral land on the northern coast of Colombia. They built their new village from the ground up. While many aspects of their lives thrived without electricity, they found the lack of power in their schools to be inhibiting their children’s success. Arhuaco leaders reached out to the Solar Electric Light Fund (SELF), which brought electricity to their classrooms.
However, beyond this success story, many students around the world are still attending schools that lack power—25% of primary schools to be exact. That means millions of students can’t so much as turn on an overhead light.
Lighting schools is a simple and effective way to set in motion positive change. Over its decades of work, SELF has observed the deep and diverse power of classroom lighting:
- Light enhances performance. Even during daylight hours, research shows that well-lit classrooms are tied to improved concentration and academic performance. Lighting also supports teachers, who, in turn, can deliver better education to their students.
- Learning can continue after dark. Lighting schools means children have a place to do homework when the sun goes down. This is especially vital in energy-poor regions where homes are lit dimly, if at all, by candles or kerosene lanterns. When schools are electrified, children can use the space after hours to complete assignments and further pursue their curiosities. With better access to education, these students become change agents in their community.
- Lighting offers opportunity to adult learners. Keeping schools open after dark also creates time and space for adult learners, who may not have had the opportunity to pursue their education as children. A well-lit school can be a venue for both night classes and personal study.
- Classrooms become community hubs. In an otherwise unelectrified village, a well-lit school often takes on a broader purpose. These schools become places where communities gather, celebrate occasions, and discuss what matters to them.
Schools are cornerstones of communities. They’re also the setting in which the seeds of progress are sewn. When students are uninhibited by darkness, they can pursue an education without limits. And when they’re free to learn, they can help their community break free of poverty.
Especially when used to enable additional tools like computers and internet, electricity unlocks a world of opportunity. Together, we can light the way.
Give now to help us light the way for rural schools.
SELF is a global leader in the fight against energy poverty. Since 1990, we’ve pioneered unique applications for solar energy, powering progress on food security, health care, education, gender equity, and more.
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EIN: 52-1701564