The Light Up The World Foundation provides self-sustainable, low cost lighting to people in third world countries. Light and literacy are closely related. When children or parents must spend their daylight hours in the field working, the only time for study is at night. Often these families rely on environmentally damaging and unhealthy lighting sources such as wood fires or kerosene lamps. A child and mother studying for one evening by the light of a kerosene lamp breathe in the equivalent fumes of two packs of cigarettes. Our Caravan of Light will install self-sustaining, solar-powered, light emitting diode (LED) systems in remote villages along our route.

On the right is a photo of a flat solar panel, with a one foot ruler to give you an idea of the size, and at the bottom of the picture is a light emitting diode lamp. (The battery is not shown.) These light systems will replace the present reliance on kerosene lamps. This light system is sophisticated yet simple to use. The solar panel charges a battery during daylight hours. Then at night the LED lamp is turned on. These lamps have a current draw of 1 watt of electricity. One or two lamps provide enough light to read by. This small unit can help a poor rural family become educated and avoid the health risks associated with kerosene and wood fires. It's estimated that the average cost of kerosene for a year of lighting is $52 USD, not to mention the distance that must be traveled to purchase the kerosene, making it time intensive. The cost for the solar unit seen at the right is a one time payment of $40. The LED lamps, manufactured by Lumileds in San Jose, California, have a life span of 100,000 hours. The solar panels can last 25+ years. This small piece of technology can change the way people live and think.