100 Solar Study Lamps
Solar Study Lamps in Dapaong, Togo
Our First Grant
This year Peace Sisters has focused on trying to write more grant applications so we can increase our sustainability, and we saw our first success with the support of an organization called Friends of Togo! The grant of $2,500 covered half the budget of a project to distribute solar study lamps to 100 girls in our program, while the rest of the budget was covered by the individual donors who make our activities possible.
Background
The Solar Study Lamp project was identified through a needs assessment survey by our sister organization in Togo and it built off the success of a similar pilot project we implemented in 2018.
“Following the crucial need felt by our daughters, when we asked them what hinders their success, the majority of the girls replied that they cannot study at night because of the lack of light in their homes.”
Project Details
In May 2021, we procured 100 solar lamps that were locally sourced from Jeunes Volontaires Pour L’Environment, an organization that has an office in Dapaong. The distribution benefitted female students without electricity in their homes who attend the following 12 schools:
Results and Impacts of Project
The solar lamp distribution has affected the education of the girls in both a qualitative and quantitative way. Here are a few ways that the impact may be observed:
1) 100 girls are now able to study after dark and their families likewise benefit from the solar lamps because they are powerful sources of light that can be shared by several people at the same time. This likewise assists girls in completing their household chores more quickly, freeing them for time to study;
2) School Achievement should improve because the girls will greatly increase the hours they can study after the sun sets. In 2018, after we distributed 100 solar lamps, we saw the overall success rate of the girls increase by approximately 20-30%. Furthermore, the number of girls who succeeded on the strenuous BEPC exam (that is required to enter high school) increased to over 80% that year; and
3) The Environmental Impact is significant because the solar lamps have reduced reliance on fires, kerosene lamps, and battery-operated flashlights in 100 households. These solar lamps are particularly sustainable because they are not only locally sourced but also utilize regular lightbulbs that can be purchased at any local market for replacement (unlike foreign-sourced solar lamps that require lightbulbs that must be ordered abroad and imported when they burn out).
Simple things like being able to study after dark can make all the difference when a girl wants to succeed. $50 is all it takes to buy a solar study lamp!