A little bit of lighting hope in a dark world

Osei Darwka, president of Ghana Telecom University, has a lofty goal. A fierce advocate of education, he wants every household in his country to replace kerosene –– the fuel commonly used in home lighting –– with a healthier, safer, more environmentally friendly alternative that will allow schoolchildren to read and study in the evening.

With assistance from the Institute of Energy Efficiency (IEE) at UC Santa Barbara, Darwka has taken steps toward making that goal a reality.

During a recent visit to Santa Barbara, Darwka met with John Bowers, director of the IEE, to discuss a possible collaboration. Aware of its work on high-efficiency LED lights and high-efficiency solar cells, Darwka asked if the institute could design an affordable reading light. In Ghana –– and other developing countries –– the lack of safe, adequate home lighting is directly linked to illiteracy, poverty, and health issues.

Bowers, also a professor of electrical and computer engineering, pulled together a team that designed and produced a high-efficiency solar-powered LED lamp. Partnering with the Santa Barbara-based nonprofit organization Pangaea, the first group of lamps –– 100 in all –– was shipped to Ghana in July. Another 1,200 will be on their way later this month to Ghana, Haiti, and Kenya, and another 10,000 have been ordered for delivery in early 2011. The goal for 2011 is to ship 100,000 lamps to Ghana, Uganda, Senegal, Kenya, Chad, India, and Haiti.

Distribution of the lamps is currently overseen by Unite to Light, a nonprofit organization in Santa Barbara established specifically to supply solar-based lighting to the developing world.

http://www.ia.ucsb.edu/pa/display.aspx?pkey=2386

Excellent application of technology and excellent non-profit initiative
to get it out to where it is needed.

Thanks for posting this!

:hi: