Ukilimuto Solange
Solange, a rural bank teller who lives on the outskirts of her village, has recommended the Firefly to all of her friends.  Using her solar lantern, she socializes with friends late into the night and escorts them back to their homes when they are prepared to leave.  She shares the light with her family to help them cook at night and has been able to save several dollars per month by not having to purchase kerosene.

Hahirwusenga Innocent
Innocent, a math teacher at a primary school in a rural Rwandan village, purchased the Firefly Solar Lantern to become more productive at night.  The 4-6 hours of noticeably brighter light now available to him after sunset allows him to spend more time creating lesson plans for his students and thus become a more effective teacher.

Kantengwa Concolee
Concolee, a mother of four, had a 5.0 W Solar PowaPack installed in her home to provide social opportunities for her family as well as protection for her animals just outside her home.  The 5.0 W system also allows her family to charge up to 3 mobile phones at once, a must when her entire family comes to visit during the holiday season.

Mukana Brigitte
Brigitte uses the Firefly to charge her and her husband’s phones and her solar lantern.  Before buying the unit, the phones died frequently.  She would have to walk 2 hours to the nearest charging station and leave the phones to charge.  Sometimes, she would get to the charging station and it would be closed or full so she would have to wait to charge her phone, often going without her phone for a whole day.  Other times, she would walk the 2 hours back to pick up the phones only to find they had been stolen or tampered with.  Additionally, she can use the light to allow her children to study later at night without worrying about burns or fumes.  She is so happy with the product she lets her friends use it to charge their phones for free simply to encourage them to purchase one of their own.

Dr. Kalombo S Thierry , Head of Maternity, Shyira Hospital
When Dr. Kolombo started working at Shyira Hospital it received power from a loud and expensive diesel generator for only 2 hours a night and only in the operating room, maternity ward, and laboratory.  With the solar panels installed by Great Lake Energy, the hospital can use electricity all night and throughout the wards and offices.  They can even run the x-ray machine using solar power.  Most importantly, they can avoid using costly diesel fuel, and in a poor village like Shyira, this makes a big difference.

Watch a clip of the interview with Dr. Kalombo

 

The below are stories of clients reactions to recently installed solar home lighting solutions.

A rural household in Northern Rwanda, 28w PV system 

“Have you heard about the amazing miracles of the old days? This is what they were like! A glass which gives brightness! I was suffering for a long time carrying a battery to the nearest city to be charged, and have had to do so many things in the darkness. And now this simple piece of glass provides a solution!!!”

A rural home in Eastern Rwanda, 28w PV system

“Thanks for leaving Kigali and coming here to install solar energy. We were disturbed by lanterns and candles and now we have modern light! Our hands used to be burnt by matches and now we have to touch only the switches and enjoy white brightness. We heard that during the installation, the children broke the glass lantern. Now I command them to break all candles and lanterns which are in my house!”