Kerosene lamps cause countless deaths by burns, fires, and suffocation. In Rwanda, 25% of households reported a kerosene related fire within the last year. -Nuru Light
Over 1.6 billion people worldwide do not have access to electricity. Without access to electricity, people must turn elsewhere for their energy needs, using solid fuels or oil based fuels, dung, wood, or coal, for example. Smoke from using solid fuels and oil-based fuels for cooking and lighting is a major cause of indoor air pollution, which causes 1.6 million people to die each year.
That’s approximately the population of San Antonio Texas…dying each year. Over 60% of those people are under the age of 14.
Whether the children are at boarding schools or in their homes, at night they must depend on kerosene lamps for lighting. The continued exposure to burning kerosene leads to chronic illness, such as eye, lung, kidney, and respiratory infections, influenza, pneumonia, and cancer, often resulting in death.
To offer children the benefits of a modernized education – one where equipment can be powered, computers can be run, and classes can be held in a well-lit and safe environment – the Foundation worked with the Methodist Church of Rwanda to bring solar systems to schools they were building, helping to raise the caliber of children’s education through computers and safe lighting. To date, we have built and/or supplied seven schools, as well as additional clinics with solar power systems.
We have partnered with PiSAT to provide solar lanterns and work to eliminate the use of kerosene and bring safe lighting to schools and individual homes.
