The Light for Learning project is opening up opportunities that were once beyond reach for remote communities in Huon Gulf District. Phase 3 of the project, implemented in partnership with the Kokoda Track Foundation (KTF), installed solar energy systems for 8,095 homes and 273 community facilities in 37 of the district’s remotest villages.

By lighting up homes and powering devices, solar power is enabling children to study independently at home after dark – to study for as long as they wish; to reach as far as their talents take them.

Access to electricity fuels economic development and increases social wellbeing. It improves the delivery of essential services and lights up streets and community spaces, enhancing safety and encouraging greater social and economic interaction at night.

The project trained 728 local solar champions to carry out maintenance on the new solar systems with support from a Solar Hub – a one-stop-shop set up in Buakap Village to provide assistance and spare parts. With local people taking a lead role, solar energy is set to light up the communities for years to come.

Light for Learning in Oro Province distributed solar home systems to households and communities of KTF college students. All households, schools, aid posts, community centres and churches received solar systems in a whole-of-community approach, which ensured fairness, equity and transparency.

Solar home kits provide light after dark and allow students to charge their tablets, which are required as part of Kokoda Track Foundation’s Flexible Open Distance Education Program. This means students are able to continue their tablet-based studies at home.