Winter 2011 Team Blog: Bringing Light to Africa
This blog post was written by Francis prior to their trip to Eburru. During their trip, Francis and his team will be exploring new cooking/light options for Eburru including the use of some solor powered lanterns like the one below.
Have you wondered what life would be like if you didn’t have access to electric light? In most regions of Africa, the only source of light at night is by burning things. If you are wealthier, you can burn kerosene. If not, charcoal or bits of collected wood. In all cases, it creates soot and is a cause of much respiratory ailments (from my experience working with the medical arm of DHI). And burning all that stuff is expensive whether it is from the time spent gathering the materials or the ecological impact.
I’ve heard so many stories of children burned from these fires. Countless men and woman across Africa and elsewhere suffering — and some dying — from respiratory ailments. The poorest people on the planet together spent almost $40 billion last year on kerosene and other rudimentary and dangerous fuel-based lighting. Yet it doesn’t have to be this way.
In many cases, most people just do not have access to light and cannot do anything. But can you imagine what life would be like for these people if they had access to light at night? How would their life change? I plan to find out in this mission.
Matthew 5:13-15 (NIV) – Salt and Light
13 “You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men. 14 “You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house.
I hope in this mission that we can to dispel the spiritual darkness along with the physical darkness.
One of the greatest gifts, besides sharing the Word, is sharing the knowledge that we have here. Another project that I hope to undertake is to introduce the know-how to build more energy-efficient cooking ovens (and reduce the fuel costs, ecological impact, health and others). And we have many more other such projects…
