Justin Tomlinson MP with Lights for Learning Director, Roger Mugridge
Justin Tomlinson MP today visited a fundraising event at the Basepoint Business Centre to meet local charity Lights for Learning.
Light for Learning is a small local charity that researches, develops and manufactures solar powered lighting for use in schools and hospitals in the developing world. The team have recently been working in Zimbabwe to install the lighting systems in schools, clinics and training centres.
The lighting uses low voltage LEDs that run off a 12v car battery charged during the day via a small solar panel. The charity has also developed small portable wind turbines to act as a power source, as well as a larger portable unit that will power laptops, suitable for NGOs working in remote areas.
Lights for Learning work with the Probation Service to offer training opportunities to local ex-offenders, giving them engineering and electrical skills. The ex-offenders help the charity to hand build the units locally, meaning that their work makes a difference in the UK as well as abroad.
Justin Tomlinson MP said “Lights for Learning is a fantastic local charity doing admirable work that makes a lasting difference in some of the poorest countries in the world. Their ingenuity in designing and producing the units themselves is extremely impressive. With the present debate over aid spending, this charity is a good example of how we as a nation can contribute to help developing countries whilst also boosting our own economy and training our workforce at home.”