Have you ever experienced the inconvenience of a sudden power outage in the middle of the night? All electronic devices stop working, and it becomes difficult to see. If electricity were to disappear for even a day, our lives would come to a standstill. However, did you know there are some places where 6 out of 10 people live without electricity still now? 

The place is sub-Saharan Africa. According to a World Bank report in 2017, about 690 million people in Sub-Saharan Africa live without electricity, with the majority residing in rural areas. The electricity shortage in African rural areas is not only inconvenient, but also a serious problem that threatens lives.

Every year in Africa, 490,000 people die prematurely due to a lack of electricity. The reason is that fossil fuels such as firewood, coal, and kerosene are still widely used in Africa. In Zambia alone, over 13 million people still live in energy poverty. Most of them still cook with firewood and use kerosene for lighting, which pollutes indoor air and causes premature deaths from respiratory diseases. Harmful smoke is fatal for women and children who spend most of their time indoors, making it urgent to deliver clean energy to rural households in Zambia.

Francis, a young Zambian, grew up in a small village called Sitambuli Village in eastern Zambia. The town had no electricity and used kerosene lamps for lighting. However, the lantern was too dim to read, and the harmful fumes made Francis cough incessantly, leading him to visit the hospital every week. Having suffered from the never-ending cough, Francis wished that no more children were struggling to study under kerosene lanterns in the village. That's how Francis decided to find a solution to the problem of electricity shortage in rural Africa.

"I hope to see more impoverished families living safely and healthily through Kukula Solar's activities and rural children studying at night and competing equally with their urban peers in school."