Malian students hope to light up the night
17 April 2006 in Programs, Mali, Featured by Robin Taylor
In Mali it is not uncommon, when school is in session, to see students reading their textbooks and doing their exercises by the side of the highway, under the glow of streetlights. Why? Because most Malian residences do not have electricity or lighting.
Geekcorps Mali, in partnership with Mali’s Ecole National d’Ingenieurs (National School of Engineering), hopes to change that.
Together they have agreed to sponsor four students to complete their senior theses. During this four month project, the students will work with Geekcorps staff and volunteers to design two different LED lighting power systems that could be later used in village lighting projects.
Each student has been provided with access to a computer with internet access at Geekcorps Bamako office. Cypress Systems from France has donated several microcontroller development kits which the students will use to develop to develop intelligent battery charge systems that help maximize the life of the batteries used in lighting systems.
This partnership is a result of Geekcorps’ belief of the importance of knowledge transfer and developing local capacity. It is Geekcorps’ hope that one or two of these students could later become involved in the creation of a small enterprise to locally manufacture appropriate technology products developed by Geekcorps.
Papou Coulibaly is young boutique owner in Ouélessébougou. Previously, Geekcorps partnered with Papou to create a Cybertigi - an Internet access point for the local community via a wireless link to a Community Information & Learning Center (CLIC).