“How do we shelter in place when we are without a home?” asks Gorge, a man living in a homeless encampment in Chicago. According to a point in time count in January of this year, Gorge is one of over half a million people in the United States experiencing homelessness in 2020. About 200,000 of those people are living “unsheltered,” meaning they are living either on the streets, or have made use of other spaces not intended for human habitation.  ​

You don’t often hear of twins in the county of Turkana. It is not because women don’t have them, it is because it is nearly impossible for mothers to sustain two children. Mothers often have to make the impossible decision to let one go, or risk losing them both. This is what people have to do to survive in an environment where malnutrition is part of daily life. ​

Light makes up the very essence of life -- from photosynthesis that enables plants to grow -- to advancements in education, health and communication. At Unite to Light we understand the power of light: that it can increase graduation rates, improve maternal and infant health, aid in disasters and offer hope to people living on the streets. So, on Saturday, May 16th we celebrate the International Day of Light! According to UNESCO:

The International Day of Light celebrates the role light plays in science, culture and art, education, and sustainable development, and in fields as diverse as medicine, communications, and energy...This day is a call to strengthen scientific cooperation and harness its potential to foster peace and sustainable development.

​For students living without electricity, having a solar light increases graduation rates by 20-30%. We have seen this success in South Africa when we examine test scores in exit exams (called matrics) before and after the students have access to our solar lights. Giving students the opportunity to study at night is our goal; we aim to boost their education and increase opportunities. But for those of us that live with electricity, the day-to-day reality of these students can be difficult to imagine. We recently received a note from one of these students and want to share it with you here. 

Ngcebo is an orphan living with his three siblings and tells us how he and his brothers use their solar Luke Light. The words below are his own and we’ve added parenthesis where we think clarification for terms will help translate the story. 

Life is getting tough here in the US. We are practicing social distancing, adapting to working from home, home-schooling our children, lecturing our parents to not go out and worrying about running out of toilet paper. And this is just the beginning. Experts tell us that things are going to get much worse - less so if we significantly limit our contact with each other - but they are estimating 2.2 million Americans will die from the coronavirus, COVID-19. 

This year we sent over 12,000 solar lights and chargers around the world. These went to students in South Africa and Haiti, midwives in Bangladesh and victims of disasters around the world. Dozens of partners also took lights to places like the Philippines, Nepal, Kenya, Ghana, Sudan, Rwanda, Ecuador, Brazil, Peru, Paraguay and Mexico. Everywhere lights go they are improving health, giving opportunity and decreasing greenhouse gas emissions.

The sun is starting to set after a long day for the children of Makhasa School in South Africa. With Matric Exams coming up, it is a very busy time of year for students seeking to graduate from high school. Students study as much as they possibly can, but as the day fades away and night falls, they find themselves reading in the dark. To continue studying, some students resort to candles or kerosene lamps. These lamps make it difficult to breathe and can cause severe burns when mishandled. Sadly, in communities without reliable sources of light, students have limited options for studying after dark. For these students, success has very strict bounds. In the hopes of uplifting these children, and eliminating the boundaries to success, Unite to Light has partnered with multiple South African schools to provide Light Libraries. ​

​In 1954 modern solar cells were invented at Bell Labs with the intent of powering satellites. For many years solar remained expensive but today prices have come down and solar electricity is everywhere. Our satellites and the Mars rover are solar powered, as are homes, toys, outdoor lighting and solar battery packs to charge our electronic devices. Importantly solar electricity is bringing light to the one billion people around the world who live without power. Often these solar lights are replacing kerosene or candles as light sources in the home. Let’s look at some frequently asked questions about solar lights and how they are changing the world.