Giving the gift of light

On International Day of the Girl Child, held last October, St Margaret’s primary students played their part in assisting the 789 million people around the world living in extreme energy poverty.

Through Australian charity SolarBuddy and in partnership with Amazon Web Services, Trend Micro and Mantel Group, students assembled solar powered lights that will enable children living in Tanzania to read and study long after the sun goes down. Once construction was complete, the students paused to reflect on the lives of their counterparts in developing countries and wrote messages to each SolarBuddy recipient. Without these lights, communities are forced to rely on fossil fuel sources like kerosene and diesel which are toxic, expensive and damaging to the environment. SolarBuddies are a safe and reliable solar light solution for children living in remote, off-grid communities, which are helping to make their futures much brighter. Head of Primary Angela Drysdale said the program combined STEM learning with global citizenship. ‘The process highlighted to students how others around the world live, while also giving them the opportunity to make a global contribution. Providing the gift of light will positively impact lives by increasing study hours after dark, offsetting carbon emissions and reducing kerosene expenditure. ‘The activity also gave students the chance to learn about solar technology and to consider how innovative design solutions can solve some of the world’s most complex problems and transform lives,’ Angela said.