Solar Lights Success in Zimbabwe

Great news! Thanks to a very generous £5,000 donation from Scurrah Wainwright Charity, we are thrilled Mwana Trust will provide 300 sets of solar lights to families they support in and around Mutare in Zimbabwe.

We have worked with our Zimbabwean partner - Mwana Trust - since 2007 and their Education For All Programme supports over 350 vulnerable children, mostly affected or infected by HIV/AIDS, in eight primary schools. Their support ranges from paying school fees, providing books and educational materials and buying uniforms, to providing furniture and learning resources in schools.

With cases of Coronavirus identified in Zimbabwe in late March 2020, schools closed their doors. After several spikes in new cases, schools eventually began reopening on 15th March 2021.

During the period of schools closures, Mwana Trust led a community Covid-19 response providing soap, face masks and food parcels to beneficiary families while also running awareness campaigns to mitigate the spread of the disease in the communities they serve.

Their awareness campaigns were attended by a fantastic 294 of their 353 beneficiaries (83%). Those attending explained it was impossible for them to study at home during dark evenings with no electricity or alternative light sources. They went on to report while schools were closed, their days were spent working for food in nearby commercial farms or carrying out household chores, including the childcare of younger siblings, while their parents and guardians worked. 85% of the campaign attendees therefore requested solar lights to enable them to keep up with their schoolwork during any future periods of lockdown and to help them complete homework in the evenings once school resumes.

The majority of children and families supported by Mwana Trust rely on firewood and kerosene for cooking and lighting. These unsustainable sources of energy negatively affect school performance by increasing eye-related diseases and respiratory problems, as well as producing a negative environmental impact due to their contribution to pollution and deforestation.

This grant from Scurrah Wainwright Charity will enable Mwana Trust to provide rechargeable solar light kits to 353 beneficiaries from 300 families. The kits contain 3 separate lights, a separate solar panel which charges the batteries for 8-12 hours, as well as a USB/SD port which can charge basic electronic devices.

Mwana Trust is preparing to start installing the lights so keep an eye on our website and social media pages in the coming months to hear how they get on!

The effects of schooling on poverty reduction are well-documented, yet Coronavirus restrictions have hindered years of progress in the educational arena and home-learning has become an impossible necessity for some of Zimbabwe’s most vulnerable children. Our sincere thanks go to the Trustees at Scurrah Wainwright Charity for enabling Mwana Trust’s solar lights programme which will contribute to future successes of children in Mutare.