Oatley Public School was shining bright this month as 175 pupils from year 5 and 6 got busy with a classroom project that will spark up safety for their global peers.
The group of kids were guided by corporate volunteers from Origin Foundation to build solar-powered lights, for an initiative that will provide new learning opportunities for children living along the Kokoda Track.
Lights will help children living in disadvantaged communities in Papua New Guinea.
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.
It is the initiative of SolarBuddy, an Australian charity dedicated to educating and empowering the next generation to change the lives of children living in energy poverty, through its innovative school education and corporate engagement programs.
The Origin Foundation, Origin’s philanthropic foundation, supports programs that use education as a pathway to a brighter future.
About 1.4 billion people across the world do not have access to modern electricity.
Solar Buddy is working to improve the educational opportunities of children throughout the South Pacific, South East Asia and Africa, by distributing portable solar lights.
Oatley Public will join to become “solar buddies”, while learning about renewable energy and spark interest in science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) education.
