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Light Up The World
Q&A with Dr. David Irvine Halliday, Founder
How would you function without light at night? What is possible with a single light bulb? Dr. Halliday, an engineering professor at the University of Calgary, asked this question when he started Light Up The World (LUTW).
LUTW has lit more than 14,000 homes in 42 countries with sustainable LED lights whose batteries are charged by solar power.
Tides Canada enables LUTW to carry out its fundraising activities by providing a range of gift and grant management services.
Why did the townships of South Africa draw your interest?
The townships were in desperate need of lighting. These people are paying about 20 rand a week for paraffin and candles. In one year they could pay for a lighting system worth 20 years of light. I took seven LED lights with me initially and sold them by micro credit to seven families, for 1100 rand – roughly 150 dollars. They paid the money back almost immediately. One fellow paid it back in three months, another family in five months. They now have safe and healthy light, and it creates an enormous amount of wealth because within a year their lighting is free. In fact, they save money!
Do you see lives improve with your LED lights?
Tenbisa is in Johannesburg. In one of the homes we lit lives a young carver who sells his carvings in the townships. He said if he could carve at night under proper light, he could look for a job during the day.
We put lighting in a woman’s house in a formal settlement; "formal" means there’s a toilet close by but no electricity. Within a month her lighting costs were zero because she didn’t have to spend money on paraffin. With the money she saved, she built a shack and rented it out to earn extra income.
Why don’t you just donate the lighting systems, give them away for free?
There are a couple of billion people in the world without light. If we donated every system, we’d have a huge bill on our hands. If people are paying over $20 a year for lighting, they can purchase our sustainable lighting system.
Also, we are creating employment and building wealth. We find communities spending money on light, and introduce them to LED lighting. One of the installers we trained was spending 1600 rand a year ($200) on candles. The lady we trained in electrical systems uses only paraffin and spends 35 rand a week. In one year she could pay off her entire LED lighting system.
