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So Colin and I just found out we have received the funding we need to go to India this summer. For those who don't know, we will be departing for India on June 10th for three weeks. The first week will be spent in New Delhi, visiting schools as well as distributing lights. From there we will fly to Goa to start the Rickshaw Challenge, a 10 day 1000-mile race in an auto-rickshaw from Goa to Mumbai. We will spend the last portion of our trip in Mumbai continuing our research Along the way we will continue to distribute lights and research both the educational issues present in India as well as the potential benefits from the lights. Here is some more information below that I wrote up about the crisis.
A study conducted by the United Nations Development Program found that the literacy rate in India is only 66%.[1] Out of the 180 countries polled, India was listed as the 149th, meaning only 31 countries had lower literacy rates as of 2008. India is a rapidly developing country, however, without drastic improvement to the education system, India will not continue to produce educated leaders to further their development. To have a complete education, children need to be able to learn both inside and outside of the classroom. In many parts of India, as well as parts of the rest of the developing world, children are able to go to school but are not afforded the valuable learning experiences outside of the classroom due to a lack of electricity in their homes. When children return home from school in many circumstances, they are unable to do their homework or necessary reading because they do not have a reliable and proper form of electricity. According to a 2007 New York Times article, “According to the Planning Commission of India, 600 million people - roughly half the population - are off the electricity grid.”[2] The article goes on to explain how even the families on the grid face problems due to frequent brownouts in large cities due to drastic overloads of the circuits and electric resources. Many of those families off the grid in India rely on inefficient methods of lighting including kerosene lamps, or fires from burnt wood.
1.5 billion people do not have direct access to electricity and rely on kerosene, candles or firewood for lighting - all of which are relativity expensive and provide inferior light for reading. Lack of suitable home lighting is directly linked to illiteracy, poverty and heath problems. Furthermore, the current widespread burning of kerosene for lighting results in substantial carbon release and environmental pollution.[3]
hi.......great to meet u.....in tamilnadu, india.....where i can buy this light unite to light
ReplyDeletepls provide me details