Problem Statement: Most of the households in rural Kenya where electrification rate is below 2.6% rely on use of kerosene lamps which is not sustainable. Students in these areas need access to lighting to enable them study and complete school work in the evening.

Target Group: The experiment involved 300 students in 7th grade across 13 classes in the Loitokitok and Nzaui districts, relatively close to the Tanzanian border and Mount Kilimanjaro.

Proposed Solution:

Nairobi Hub partnered with Rome Hub, Enel Foundation and Givewatts to provide 300 solar lamps to 12 rural communities in the Amboseli region by replacing dangerous, expensive and heavily polluting kerosene lamps with solar lamps. The project enabled children to study longer with documented improvement in school performance and the families avoided costs spent on kerosene refills.

Hub Activities:

•Managing the research surveys.

•Mapping of schools and households.

•Managing the project volunteers and finances.

•Recruitment of project volunteers.

•Distribution of solar lamps.

Short & Long-Term Goals/Results:

•Improved mathematics grades of 0.88 standard deviation.

•Increased quantity and/or quality of study time for students, students spent more time in school to study together after class.

•Triggered increase in co-studying at school during the early evenings.

•Reduced fuel expenditure of about 60–90 Ksh ($0.66–$1) per week.

•Lamps allowed mothers to do chores more effectively at night, freeing time for other activities, especially paid work, during the day and in the evenings.

Available Metrics: During phase I of the project solar lamps were distributed to 300 students in 7th grade.The project was run for a duration of one year covering twelve schools from Loitokitok and Nzaui districts in Kenya. Nairobi hub participated in phase I implementation of the project between September 2013 and September 2014. Awarded a $50,000 acceleration grant from the Coca Cola Company

Collaborators:

Enel Foundation, Givewatts, Rome Hub