Marconi Beam Primary School pupils in Joe Slovo received 1 730 solar lights thanks to two local organisations and an international company.
Flight Centre Foundation, the Clean C NGO and solar lights inventors SolarBuddy in Australia, donated the lights. The solar lights give pupils an opportunity to improve their education capabilities, as most of them live in Joe Slovo Park, a mix of informal and formal housing between Milnerton and Montague Village, and use kerosene lamps when studying at home at night.
“This was the largest distribution of lights in one day by the organisation,” said the foundation's general manager of Flight Centre Travel Group, Sam van Gool.
“Energy poverty affects one in five people on the planet. This not only causes serious health and safety concerns, but education is negatively impacted.”
He also said that early research studies by SolarBuddy.org had indicated that pupils study up to 78% longer once they have a solar light over a kerosene lamp.
Clean C director Greg Player, who has been running education and community upliftment programmes in Joe Slovo Park for six years, said: “In a four-by-four-metre shack with no windows, it is basically impossible for kids to do homework, as it's too dark.”
“These solar lights will enable these children to read at night and do homework. They are much safer than candles or other types of lamps, and, of course, solar power is free.”
SolarBuddy.org chief executive Simon Doble said: “As the founder of SolarBuddy.org, the dream was always to make children smile, using the wonder of solar lights to help them with their education.”