Solar lights to help students study at night

STUDENTS of Hagara Primary School in Hanuabada now have solar lights to do their homework at night, thanks to a partnership between the Kokoda Track Foundation and the Motu Koita Assembly (MKA).
The 2,500 solar lights were delivered to the students by Australian NRL teams Cronulla Sharks and Canterbury Bulldogs on Friday, prior to their pre-season trial match at the National Football Stadium.
KTF chief executive officer Genevieve Nelson said the solar lights were provided by their partner organisation in Australia, SolarBuddy.
She said the Sharks were ambassadors of KTF and had previously delivered SolarBuddy lights to children when they walked the Kokoda Track in 2017.
Nelson said so far, around 34,000 solar lights had gone to children in Papua New Guinea.
She encouraged the students to use the lights to do their school work.
She also told the students that after two years, the KTF team would come to change the batteries and that if they looked after their lights, it could last for years.
According to KTF, many households in Hanuabada did not have access to the electricity grid due to the high connection cost and ongoing bills.
Lack of access to safe and reliable electricity source affects a child’s opportunity to study, which in turn, stagnates their education and they are unable to develop the skills necessary to break the cycle of poverty.
With a SolarBuddy light, children are studying 78 per cent longer and reliance on kerosene and other dangerous fuels have been reduced by 80 per cent.
MKA chairman Dadi Toka Jnr thanked KTF for coordinating the delivery of the solar lights for the Hagara students.
He said the school was an important part of their community and they also have other projects for the school.