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‘Saving lives’ with solar-powered lights
"I want to reach out to as many rural communities as possible. ... The impact is saving lives."
- Evans Wadongo
KENYA - Wadongo, 23, not only is giving his country's rural families a way to replace the smoky kerosene and firelight with solar power, he says he also hopes his invention will ultimately improve education and reduce poverty and hunger. And he's providing it for free.
The villagers' faces light up as Evans Wadongo arrives. Men, women and children sing and gather around as he shows how his invention -- a solar-powered LED lantern -- will soon light up their homes.
"These families, they are so poor. They don't have electricity," said Wadongo, a native of rural Kenya. "It's only kerosene and firewood that they use for lighting, cooking.
"The amount of money that every household uses to buy kerosene every day -- if they can just save that money, they can be able to buy food."