WE OFFER A HAND UP, NOT A HAND OUT

The Mwezi Foundation (‘mwezi’ means ‘moon’ in Swahili) is a small UK-registered charity, set up in 2014, which provides free portable solar lights to rural primary schools in the Kilifi and Kwale counties of south-east Kenya. These lights enable pupils living in very remote, disadvantaged circumstances – with no electricity at home – to do their homework in the evenings, thereby boosting their educational attainment and life chances.

We have designed these unique lights ourselves, to withstand the rigours of the Kenyan climate and constant use by active children. We assemble them in our own workshop near Mombasa, and donate them to carefully-chosen partner schools. The schools then loan them to pupils overnight, so they can do their homework; and, when homework is completed, other family members can also use the light that evening. Each light is often shared between two or more pupils over the course of the year, and at the end of the academic year all are collected in and made ready for the next cohort. With careful management each light lasts several years – helping at least 10 children, and their families, over a 5-year period.

“The foundation of every state is the education of its youth.”

Diogenes

BENEFITS OF MWEZI LIGHTS

Our lights have numerous positive impacts right across the community:

Education as a route out of poverty

  • A full education is widely acknowledged as one of the best chances disadvantaged youngsters have to break the cycle of poverty. Regular use of a Mwezi light helps them consolidate their learning, so they have a real chance of completing secondary school and securing a good-quality job.

  • The remote villages where we work are among the poorest in Kenya: no electricity, usually no money for kerosene lamps, and many children coming to school barefoot or missing out on a midday meal.

  • Many parents are unemployed or in casual, unskilled work. A child who completes their education can help the whole family escape poverty.

Boosting girls’ education and avoiding harm

  • Teachers tell us that Mwezi lights increase retention in school – for all students, but especially girls.

  • If a girl has access to a Mwezi light, her parents typically value her education more, and aspire to academic success for her.

  • A Mwezi light also enables girls to study at home, rather than elsewhere (eg at a friend’s house) – which teachers tell us is a factor in avoiding early pregnancy.

  • Keeping girls in education also means they are less likely to be married off early, or sent away to domestic service – situations fraught with physical and emotional risk.

Building self-confidence and motivation – for both pupils and teachers

  • Accessing a Mwezi light builds students’ confidence and sense of agency. As their grades rise through consistent study, they realise that by their own efforts they can improve their circumstances, and positively affect the course of their lives.

  • Being in the ‘Mwezi programme’, and receiving the support of our dedicated Kenyan staff, boosts the morale and dedication of our partner teachers, who are often working in hardship postings.

Health and environmental benefits

  • Mwezi lights improve family and environmental health, as their clean solar energy typically replaces kerosene (for those families that can afford to buy it). Each light can save up to 92kg of CO2 emissions per year compared to a kerosene lamp.

  • Kerosene fumes are strongly linked to breathing, eyesight and skin problems, and kerosene lamps are a significant cause of air pollution, burns and household fires. Mwezi solar lights avoid all these problems.

  • Mwezi lamps help to build the circular economy, via our sector-leading ‘repair or replace’ guarantee. If a light malfunctions, we never throw it away: we repair it, or salvage all possible parts for reuse.

Benefits across the community

  • Our work combats global warming and improves air quality for everyone.

  • Our lights help family finances, because solar power is free whereas kerosene is expensive. We estimate that access to a Mwezi light can save a family about £15 per month – a significant benefit.

  • After homework has been completed, a Mwezi light becomes a resource the whole family can use that evening, for work or leisure.

  • Teachers report that our lights help protect families’ mental health, due to reduced worry about the cost of kerosene, and reassurance for parents that their children’s education is supported.

These advantages are brilliantly encapsulated in this brief but powerful poem by one of our students, Gloria:

Mwezi Foundation What We Do Poem Video

HOW WE WORK

The Mwezi Foundation is run by a small group of dedicated trustee directors who give their time entirely for free. We employ four full-time staff in Kenya (two technicians and two schools managers), and a part-time UK-based fundraiser for a few hours each week. We also have a small group of dedicated volunteers who generously give their time to support various aspects of our work.

‘Co-production’ with beneficiary communities

Our operational model represents a true partnership between the Mwezi Foundation, schools and pupils. We select schools which are motivated to look after the lights and to work with us. Teachers retain discretion over how they share out the lights to deliver maximum benefit to pupils, and they also motivate students to make best use of their homework time. Pupils, meanwhile, bring enormous enthusiasm, commitment and hard work to their studies – and see the results in rising test and exam scores.

Full lifecycle support for our lights – and our schools

We are here for the long term. Once a partnership with a school is in place, we offer a level of support which we believe is unique among solar light distributors, at no cost to the school: regular visits, repair and replacement of lights if necessary, motivational talks for pupils, support groups for teachers, and comprehensive tracking of academic results. This intensive approach not only embodies our values, but also safeguards our lamps. As a result, they last for years, well beyond the industry norm, which helps us maximise funders’ money, support many more children, and minimise our environmental footprint.

A DAY IN THE LIFE OF OUR KENYAN TEAM

Mwezi Foundation What We Do A Day In The Life 01

1.

John and David, our technicians, manufacture lights and prepare the lights which are going to be donated or substituted that day. In advance of the day, the schools managers will have contacted the 5-6 schools they are going to visit, to find out how many broken lights they have and confirm numbers of children in the classes receiving lights. In 2024 we are focusing on Grade 6 (approx. 11 years old) and Grade 8 (approx. 14 years old).

Mwezi Foundation What We Do A Day In The Life 02

2.

Our schools managers, Julia and Antony, travel to a cluster of six of our schools. Sometimes, weather conditions can make travel very difficult. The photo above was taken when the car Julia was travelling in got stuck in the mud! Thankfully, some villagers helped get it going again, and Julia still managed to visit three schools that day.

Mwezi Foundation What We Do A Day In The Life 03

3.

The schools manager arrives at the schools that they are visiting. They greet the teachers and meet the students. Then, they donate or swap some Mwezi solar lights, taking away any broken ones which need to be repaired. In the photo above, Mr Kennedy from Kikonde Primary School is receiving a light library (which usually consists of 12 solar lights).

Mwezi Foundation What We Do A Day In The Life 04

4.

The schools manager teaches the class how to use (and take care of) their solar lights.

Mwezi Foundation What We Do A Day In The Life 05

5.

Now it’s time to take some group pictures of the class with their new Mwezi lights!

Mwezi Foundation What We Do A Day In The Life 06

6.

After returning to the office, the schools managers capture all the data in reports, including how many lights the schools they have visited have received and how many broken ones have been swapped. They enter the information on the master sheets and update their visit spreadsheet.

Mwezi Foundation What We Do A Day In The Life 07

7.

John and David get to work assessing the lights which have been returned, ready to fix them and redistribute them.

YOU CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE

We welcome any amount you can donate. You can make a one-off donation or set up a monthly donation. Please Gift-Aid your donation if possible so it goes even further for us and earns tax relief for you.