McGill University student, Salima Visram, grew up just outside of Mombasa, Kenya next to the Kikambala village where 22,000 people live below the poverty line. From a very young age, Visram was taught to understand the complexities of poverty, and to do whatever she could to contribute to its alleviation.
Over the past 6 months, Visram designed and put together The Soular Backpack, which will allow kids in rural areas to leverage the power of the sun on their long walks to and from school every day. The backpack which has a solar panel and storage battery harnesses the power of the sun and powers a LED lamp, hence allowing children in rural areas, who have no access to electricity or who use kerosene, to study through the night.
The Soular Backpack requires 3-4 hours in the sun and will result in 7-8 hours of light.
Visram started a crowd-funding campaign and as of last Monday, she has been able to reach and surpass her goal of $40,000, which would provide 2,000 Soular Backpacks to villagers in Kikambala village as a pilot project.
