Light Gbonkolenken Initiative

LIGHT GBONKOLENKEN INITIATIVE

Gbonkolenken is a Chiefdom situated in Tonkolili District, Northern Region of Sierra Leone, West Africa. It has a population of approximately 32,000 people with 228 towns and villages. About 46% percent of the population is school going pupils. Sadly, 99.99 % of the villages and towns have no electricity in homes, streets, schools and local health clinics, hereby making life very challenging for the indigens. Most of the towns and villages are surrounded by vegetation and forest, which make evenings/night extremely dark. The school going population faces difficulty in studying for exams or doing school assignments owing to the lack of electricity. Like other rural communities in Sierra Leone, Gbonkolenken has since time in memoriam been without electricity supply.

Referencing the aforesaid troubling situation, I have decided to initiate a process that will gradually address the electricity problem confronting my community. I was born and raised in one of those villages – Petfu Mayawa. While growing up in the 90s, I and other kids used to sit around logs of fire pits and/or under the full bright moon to study our notes and do assignments. Ever since, even the current school going population continues to experience the same dismal or even worse conditions which we faced growing up.

In early 2023, I started an initiative of providing street solar lights for my village in Petfu Mayawa. The solar lights have provided a platform where school going children sit at night to study. This pilot project has started yielding excellent results as most school going pupils in Petfu Mayawa had improved and good grades in the most recent school examinations. This positive outcome in my village has motivated me to expand this initiative to many more village in the Chiefdom. However, although I would have loved to light the whole of the Chiefdom if I have the wherewithal, the reality is, I do not. But most importantly, I would relish the opportunity to let other indigenes and humanitarians also participate in this worthwhile venture.

Regarding the above, I humbly implore you kindly to join me in ‘The Light Gbonkolenken Initiative’; an initiative that intends to provide street solar lights for villages in Gbonkolenken, to enable school going children have a place to study at night for better and quality education. My goal is to purchase 200 solar street lights for 40 villages. The cost of one solar street light is $25.00.

Below are pictures of children in my village studying under the samples of the solar street lights that I purchased and installed early this year in Petfu Mayawa Village: