Today is the International Day of Light…a day in which we, at SolarAid, invite you to pause and take a moment to think about how important light actually is.
Take a moment to imagine not being able to turn on a light in the evening, when it starts to get dark. It will change what you do. For that moment, in a small way, it changes your life.
Imagine sitting down in the evening to read your favourite book, without light…you can’t cheat by picking up your smartphone instead….that uses light too.
In fact, in some parts of the world, the word ‘light’ is used to mean ‘electricity.’
Now imagine your child struggling to do their homework, all because the lighting at home is not good enough, or because there simply is no light. Little by little, day by day, they start to fall behind.
Lastly, imagine an expectant mother, rushing to give birth in the local hospital, only to find it in darkness. An unbelievable thing to happen at such a vital time. A dangerous situation.
You know where we are going with this….
The fact is, 600 million people are living without access to electricity across sub-Saharan Africa. What we are asking you to imagine, is the reality for millions of people.
You can see this reality for yourself in this short video we took in Malawi last month.
Please share the video and tell us what light means to you!