By Ogenyi Ogenyi,Uyo
A Non Governmental Organization, Light up African through the lens of Children has taken delivery of 2500 solar lamps from Total Energies for distribution to school children across the rural areas in the NigerDelta region.
Supported by the Global CRS Foundation and KUCOIN, the global green sponsors, the event would kickstart on Monday in Uyo with distribution of 300 Solar lights to school children in 10 public secondary schools.
The coordinator of Light up African Dr. Anita Okuribido who briefed Journalists in Uyo on Sunday said the organization would partner FEYReP, a humanitarian organisation floated by Dr. Martha Emmanuel, former Akwa Ibom First Lady to ensure the success of the exercise in the state.
According to Okuribido,”hundreds of thousands of of African children especially in the rural poor communities have no access to good lights once its dusk for studies and they mostly rely on kerosene lamps and candles both of which pose respiratory health risks, carbon emission, environmental pollution and in some cases fire outbreak from poisonous gases.
“The initiative is aimed to address these challenges by ensuring that each African child in the rural poor communities has access to at least one Solar reading light for studies at night.
“The benefits include to promote climate change and resilience in children through the use of green devices and conduct life skills opportunities to build green character and empower children to mitigate climate change.”
Other benefits according to the Coordinator include, “to organise community clean up and instill a sense of green pride in rural children to stop the use of fossil fuels and improve the health and wellbeing by facilitating access to essential green devices like solar reading lamps.”
She added that the initiative would provide a platform for rural children to harness the intrinsic green value addition to their coexistence in the ecosystem stressing that the creation of a community of sun energy friendly products usage for African children while catching them young would be of great value to the continent.
The coordinator hinted that her organization is also having special linkage opportunities with global organizations like UNICEF, the African Union and European Union.
