There is no electricity for students to study after dark or when using a computer or tablet.
Students in remote in remote villages of Sarstún, Guatemala are not able to attend school in person and rely on tablets for remote learning. Currently 50% of students are mandated to study remotely due to the COVID pandemic. As a result, students rely on eTablets, which are loaded with 2-months of schoolwork for the period of return to their village.
The communities of Cerro Blanco and Blue Creek are located in the Sarstún region, an ecological protected Area of Multiple Uses Sarstún River (AUMRS) where the population, living in remote, scattered villages, generally has neither road access nor electricity. Students lacked an energy source to charge their eTablets. A secondary goal was to provide the students with adequate lighting to perform their schoolwork.
S.H.A.R.E. is field trialing new technology 'NowLights' that provide electricity from solar panels and / or cranking.
In February 2021, in collaboration with Viaduct Foundation, S.H.A.R.E. provided NowLights to a group of students in two remote Guatemalan communities. NowLights are an innovative human powered (with optional solar panel) USB charging system and light, from Deciwatt. https://deciwatt.global/. The goal of the project was to “field test” NowLights as an inexpensive, simple-to-operate, reliable and portable, energy source.
Project Contact Details
Project Leader: John Moore
I have been involved since 2019 and accompanied a monitoring trip to Guatemala in 2020. It was gratifying to meet, shared meals, talk, and walk with the members of remote subsistence communities as they proudly showed off what they’d achieved through their own hard manual work and our financial support. Currently, I am Project Manager for support and partnership projects with Second Mile Haiti, and for Scholarships, providing financial support to indigenous high school candidates in Guatemala and Belize.
Address
12801 Bramalea Rd., Caledon Ontario, L7C 2R1
Phone
Viaduct Technology In Education Society (T.I.E.S.)
The Technology In Education Society (TIES) is a Canadian registered charity devoted to advancing the education of students in developing countries. We donate computers, tablets, and related, innovative technology, and we also have scholarship programs.
https://ties.charity/about-us/
Outcomes
In July 2021, the NowLights finally arrived in the villages and were quickly set up for student use, typically being simply hung on an interior wall of the student’s dwelling. Now, after seven months continuous use, we are able to report . . . . Success!
The units:
- Performed as advertised – both charging and the lights.
- Installation was easy, no particular technical expertise required, and students remarked they were easily switched from pull-cord charging to removing and placing outside for charging via the solar panel.
- No failures or problems noted to-date.
- The students love them, and are asking for more (i.e., for additional students)
We leave you with this touching comment from a student who benefited from the NowLight.
“ we also used it to provide light so as to be able to eat together as a family during the evening. Since it is an important factor in the community where there are no lights, so it is always necessary to light the house for the consumption of food especially dinner”.
Next steps . . . more NowLights.
