Safe Lamps

Posted by Editor on Jan 29th, 2010 | 0 comments home title

The winner of World Challenge 2009 is Safe Bottle Lamp Foundation, Sri Lanka, which distributes safe, virtually unbreakable kerosene lamps to those who can’t afford electricity.

Over 6 million people in Sri Lanka, nearly one third of the population, don’t have power. Many families rely on improvised lamps made from bottles to light their homes at night, but these can often spill and cause horrific injuries – figures suggest 300,000 people around the world die from accidental kerosene burns every year. Dr Wijaya Godakumbura, a surgeon who witnessed the terrible results of these accidents has designed a safe Lamp that can’t roll over and cause a fire. To date, his small foundation has handed out about 775 thousand of the safe lamps.

Check out the video on the World Challenge website, which provides more information on “Safe Lamps” and show how a simple idea or technique can lead to improved lives in communities.

Note: World Challenge is a competition organized by BBC World News Limited since 2005. It is aimed at finding projects or small businesses from around the world that have shown enterprise and innovation at a grass roots, which makes a difference to communities without costing the earth.

Kingdom Inroads offers you a unique opportunity to volunteer with a Singapore based organization which serves communities in the region and in Singapore.