Africans rising

WATCH: Kenyan’s solar invention to help rural kids study at night

A Kenyan woman studying at McGill university surpassed her target to raise over $40,000, so that rural kids can study longer with the “Soular Backpack”

Published

8 years ago

January 28, 2015

This Is Africa

Salima Visram grew up in Kikambala village on the outskirts of Kenya’s coastal town (Mombasa), where 22,000 people live under the poverty line. Seeing how vital electricity is in aiding children’s lives and development, led Visram to design “The Soular Backpack”. The invention needs three to four hours of sunlight to charge, and can offer up to eight hours of light at night. The backpack has a solar panel and storage battery which harnesses the sun’s rays that power an LED lamp. The child can wear the bag on the way to school, and use it at night to do homework.

2,000 Soular Backpacks will be sent to people in Kikambala village as a pilot project, now that Visram has surpassed her initial $40,000 target last week when the fundraising date ended.

The Kenyan woman is a senior at McGill University (Montreal)studying International Development Studies. Watch her explain more about her invention, and motivation above.

Source: Capital FM