Guest Post By Alisha Robertson
The Kikulu Foundation
A child going to school in a developing country often times has to fight great odds to receive an education. Once they receive an opportunity for an education, there are additional obstacles that make learning more challenging.
Obstacles most of us can’t even imagine. Simple things like the distance a child must often times walk to school in the morning just to attend, the lack of textbooks and school room resources, and the lack of electricity. As you read this, imagine children all over the world sitting in one-room school buildings with no electricity and inadequate light.
Imagine children walking down the red dirt roads of Uganda, walking home from school and being taught to use solar-powered lights. Lights that will assist them with their nighttime study, lights that will help illuminate their path. Paths have been lit for 140 children at our partner orphanage in Uganda. At the beginning of the school term this year (2015), children at our partner orphanage received LuminAID solar-powered lights with their school supplies. They all gathered around as the instructions were given on how to use and care for their light. They took turns picking up their school notebooks and shining their light. Excited and amazed over what it could do, giggles and smiles filled the air. They played with them individually to become familiar with the newest tool in their toolbox for learning, and gathered around as a group to hold their lights high.
For the kids in Uganda, after dark, can be impossible to spend anytime reading or studying outside or in their rooms. These lights will allow and encourage nighttime study. The lights provided for the children are predominantly to be used in their rooms at night. The next set of donated LuminAID lights provide additional lights for school and will also be distributed amongst our partner primary school and teaching staff as well as surrounding families in the community.
How The Kikulu Foundation & LuminAID are Helping Support Education for Children in Uganda
Uganda is home to roughly 33 million people and there are an estimated 2.5 million orphans. Over 50% of Uganda’s population is under the age of 15, making it one of the youngest countries in the world. The Ugandan government continuously struggles to provide adequate care and education for the orphaned and disadvantaged children of Uganda, which is what makes community-based projects so important. The Kikulu Foundation supports education in rural Uganda for 140 children through primary and secondary school scholarships and provides books, materials, and resources to our partner orphanage and partner primary school. LuminAID's solar-powerd lights sponsored through their Give Light program will provide a child in Uganda with a safe, sustainable and portable source of light for nighttime safety and study.
To learn more about The Kikulu Foundation, visit www.kikulu.org
