20 Districts benefit from free solar lights in Northern Region

Over 6,000 solar powered lighting systems and lanterns have been distributed to health facilities, schools and some rural communities in 20 districts in the Northern Region.

Beneficiaries included farmers, traders, nurses, teachers, churches, mosques and clinics.

The rest are schools, students, traditional birth attendants (TBAs) and development workers.

The initiative is aimed at improving the lives of rural people and workers who do not have access to electricity.

Philips Foundation, a global leader in lighting products, in partnership with NewEnergy, a local non-governmental organisation (NGO), distributed the items.

Significance

At a presentation ceremony at Nyeshi in the Sagnarigu District, the acting Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of NewEnegy, Mr Wumbei Kofi Abdulai, said the exercise was to support rural communities with affordable and sustainable technologies for lighting, lack of which had been a major hindrance to development in those areas.

He said the solar-powered lighting kits had been designed to provide low-cost and highly efficient bright lights for households, small businesses, classrooms and clinics at night to improve visibility and security.

Mr Abdulai expressed the hope that the lamps would also help promote night studies among students in the beneficiary communities.

Beneficiaries

Haruna Iddrisu, one of the beneficiaries, said in an interview that the facility had improved night studies among schoolchildren in his community.

He added that it did not also have any health implications as compared to the local lanterns they were previously using.

Another beneficiary, Fatimata Haruna, said the solar lanterns helped them in their kitchen chores at night and “also illuminates our compound for other activities.”

Ayishetu Issaka, a traditional birth attendant, expressed appreciation to the donors for the support, saying, “the provision of the solar lantern now enables me to carry out my night duties well.”