Projects in Zambia
11 projects completed
ST THOMAS COMMUNITY SCHOOL
We recently installed solar and energy storage on a remote school in northern Zambia. There is no grid power in the area and prior to the solar and battery system being installed, the more than 400 students (grades 1 through 7) attending the St Thomas Community School hadn't been able to adequately study since they had no light after dark.
The project was identified by Father Ogato with the St John’s the Baptist’s Catholic Parish in Ndola, Zambia, who serves as director of the school. EBL co-funded the project with BEGECA, a non-profit organization in Germany that supports education, health and human rights efforts around the world.
Together with BEGECA and using a local solar installer based in Lusaka, EBL had 12.275 kilowatts of solar and 28 kilowatt hours of battery storage installed at the school powering lighting, fans, 20 laptops (donated), a printer, and a projector for the classrooms and offices, and powering lighting, phone charging, fans and small appliances for three teacher homes. This is EBL's fifth school project in Zambia.
CHISHI COMMUNITY SCHOOL
In late 2023, we installed solar and energy storage (batteries) on Chishi School, a small school in a remote region of Zambia that served 87 students taught by a volunteer teacher and with no government support.
Remote schools like Chishi may not be connected to their nation’s electrical grid for a decade or more, but having electricity to power laptops or tablets and help students study after dark can have profound positive impacts on the lives of school-age children and their families living in the area. Chishi’s students range in age from 5-16 years and represent grades 1-5. Many students come from farming families and having electricity after regular school hours can help bridge the loss of students during the harvest season.
For years the school didn’t have a roof until the US-based non-profit, Build a School Zambia, held yard sales and bake sales to raise money for the metal roof to be installed. Shortly after we had the solar energy system installed, student enrollment at Chishi jumped to 150! With the increased enrollment, the government started funding a head teacher and the community is hopeful the government will fund increased classroom capacity and more desks.
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CHIMUSABO & KANYANGALA
With Empowered by Light's partner, OpenSolar, and their continued commitment of 1% of their annual revenue to EBL, we provided solar-powered water pumping, storage and irrigation systems for two more communities in Zambia. Both Chisumbo and Kanyangala previously had no access to electricity which meant community members--primarily women, had to walk great distances for hours each day collecting and hauling water from the river in order to irrigate their crops by hand. As in the case of Undi and Chutika, this greatly restricted their ability to successfully grow vegetables to feed their families and their villages and increased the likelihood of encounters with elephants, crocodiles and hippos--three of the world's deadliest animals.
UNDI & CHUTIKA
As part of OpenSolar's recent announcement to commit 1% of their annual revenue to Empowered by Light, we provided solar-powered water pumping, storage and irrigation systems for two communities in the Luangwa District of Zambia. Both Undi and Chutika previously had no access to electricity which profoundly limits people’s quality of life. Community members had to collect and haul water in buckets from the river in order to irrigate their crops and for drinking, cooking and sanitation, which greatly restricted their ability to successfully grow vegetables and a wide variety of crops and increased the likelihood of dangerous--sometimes deadly, interactions with elephants, crocodiles and hippos.
MALUNDA
We recently funded a solar-powered water pumping, storage and irrigation system for Mulunda Village in the Luangwa District of Zambia with our local partner, Conservation Lower Zambezi. The system now supports approximately 130 households spread between three communities--Nyakwindi, Mulunda and Tandwe (including two schools), and it’s empowering a group of 20 women to grow vegetables on a sustainable and commercial basis to feed their communities.
Producing ample food for the district will reduce the need for people to travel to other towns for food, help alleviate poverty, reduce poaching and improve the livelihoods of many. Another benefit of the water system is that it will reduce occurrences of dangerous and sometimes deadly run-ins with crocodiles and hippos since the women no longer need to draw and haul water directly from the Luangwa River using buckets.
KABULA
We recently installed solar and energy storage for Kabula Primary School located in a very poor and remote region of Western Zambia. Kabula is one of the first places we visited when Empowered by Light came into existence. The community had no access to electricity and would likely never be connected to the country's electrical grid. We also purchased solar energy systems with high-efficiency appliances for each of Kabula's teachers. We know having access to energy will help the students do better in school, and will hopefully improve teacher retention rates.
Parker, a young woman in Illinois, raised significant funding for this project. You can learn more about this Rising Star here.
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Empowered by Light began its work in Zambia. We started by distributing solar-powered LED lights to schools in the remote Western Province, and in 2013 we started building solar microgrids. We continue to be inspired by the students, villagers and professionals we work with throughout Zambia, who are lighting the way to a better future for themselves and the planet. Our projects have been recognized by the United Nations Head of Climate Change and the Zambian Ministry of Education.
MUGURAMENO
Imagine running a school without power or running water. Zambia’s Mugarameno Basic School, in the wildlife-rich Chiawa Game Management Area, serves 600 students from seven villages. Empowered by Light installed a micro grid that provides free electricity to the school and sells the excess power that’s generated to community members. The revenue generated by the power sales offsets the costs of maintaining and operating the system.
We recently partnered with a South African start-up company to replace some of the degraded lead-acid batteries in the original energy storage system with repurposed electric bus batteries. We're excited to give used batteries a second life and look forward to providing an update soon!
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CONSERVATION LOWER ZAMBEZI
At Conservation Lower Zambezi — an organization providing environmental education for schools in the region, and training for potential safari and tour guides — Empowered by Light installed a 10kW solar system that replaced dirty diesel power, saving the center thousands of dollars in annual fuel costs.
SIOMA HIGH SCHOOL
At Sioma High School, exam pass rates jumped 89% in the first year after Empowered by Light installed a 24kW solar system with battery storage for the campus, which is comprised of nearly 30 buildings. The system provides clean, quiet, reliable power to the classrooms, dormitories, and other campus buildings.
Inspired by our work in Zambia? A simple share on social media will help spread the word and perhaps find new supporters. Or you can donate now to help create more projects like these.