More than 140 Eden Public School students focused on their roles as global citizens last week, by assembling solar powered lights for children living without electricity in Papua New Guinea.
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It's reported 800million people around the world don't have access to electricity, and Australian charity SolarBuddy and Origin Energy Foundation brought Eden kids the opportunity to help make a difference.
Last Wednesday June 1, Years 3 to 6 students learnt about energy poverty and renewable energy as they embraced the power of STEM to make a humanitarian impact, building solar powered lights for children in Papua New Guinea.
Origin Energy Foundation volunteers led the program, in which the children learnt that only 6.3 per cent of the rural population in PNG has access to grid electricity, severely hampering the education opportunities of children.
Eden Public School teacher Donna Beaven said the students had been given an innovative learning opportunity.
"These SolarBuddy lights will help children living in energy poverty to continue studying long after the sun goes down, improving their education outcomes and overall health and wellbeing," Ms Beaven said.
As part of the program the children also wrote letters to students in PNG to accompany their SolarBuddy light, and may receive a letter in return.
"We thank the Origin Energy Foundation and SolarBuddy for giving our students the opportunity to make a significant difference in the lives of children living in poverty," Ms Beaven said.
Designed especially for children, the lights are easy to operate, carry and charge. Without them, the communities rely on dangerous and unsustainable sources of fuel like kerosene, diesel, wood or candles.
Origin's Mark Bernhardt led the program as part of his involvement in the CSIRO STEM Professionals in Schools program, which focuses on bringing real-world STEM education to life in the classroom.
Ruth Lee, Origin Energy Foundation volunteering program manager said Origin volunteers found it incredibly rewarding to see the impact STEM education had on school students as they became global citizens for the day and discovered how simple renewable energy technologies could make a real difference to energy poverty.
"We are pleased to support Eden Public School students, helping to inspire more young people to pursue a career in science, technology, engineering or maths," Ms Lee said.
With more than 100,000 lights already distributed, Origin said evaluation shows that children were able to study for up to 78 per cent longer, families were spending less on expensive lighting like candles and batteries and were reducing their dependency on diesel and kerosene.
The Origin Energy Foundation is a philanthropic foundation which was established in 2010. The Solar Buddy program complements the Origin Energy Foundation's focus on education, in particular STEM education, as a pathway to a brighter future.
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Leah Szanto
Regional journalist covering the Far South Coast of NSW.
Regional journalist covering the Far South Coast of NSW.
