Yingli Green Energy Holding Co. Ltd. and SolarAid supplied Zambia’s Mayukwayukwa High School in Kaoma with a solar PV system on the newly built United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) school.
Yingli, in addition to partners including Atama Solar Energy, Kingspan Energy, and Solar Roof Systems, raised €24,000 for SolarAid for the deployment of the system. The fundraising will support SolarAid’s ‘Lighter Learning’ program to improve the education of children in Africa by providing lighting for classrooms in 12 schools across Zambia.
The Mayukwayukwa Settlement high school began construction in 2008 to provide refugee students access to an education because the area has limited learning centers. The area is one of the continent’s oldest refugee camps, established in 1966 following the breakout of Angola’s 27-year civil war. Currently, about 15,500 refugees call the Mayukwayukwa camp home.
Mayukwayukwa High School is now able to light one of the school’s large classrooms, the headmaster’s office and a dormitory, and aid scholars with studying and providing security lighting at the same time. The solar system can also charge cellphones, saving the whole community from travelling long distances to find a charging point.
"The solar system, donated by Yingli Solar and their partners through SolarAid, will meet the lighting needs at the school and will provide safe and clean electricity, bringing huge benefits to the 600 students between 14 and 19 years old who are in the school, as well as staff and the host community around. Yingli Solar together with their partners support SolarAid to fund specific schools in Africa to provide lighting and get study lights into the hands of teachers and pupils through school campaigns. The solar lighting lengthens learning hours, improves education quality and reduces dependence on expensive and toxic kerosene lamps," said Richard Turner, Chief Fundraiser at SolarAid.
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