African huts glow with solar power

KIPTUSURI, Kenya - Sara Ruto's yearn for electricity began with a purchase of her first cellphone for receiving money transfers, contacting relatives, or even calling nearby markets for the prices of chicken. However, powering her phone was no simple matter, due to the fact that there is no electricity to begin with in farming villages residing in Kenya. Therefore, Ruto walked 2 miles to hitch a 3 hour ride on a motorcycle taxi bound to Mogotia, the nearest town with electricity  to charge her phone for 30 cents. It doesn't end there; with such high demand of locals needing to charge their phones, Ruto has no choice but to leave her phone there for 3 days before returning home. However, Ruto's distressful routine ends in February when the family saves up their money as well as selling their cattle for a solar panel made from China costing them $80 but well worth the investment. The solar panel provides enough electricity to charge their phones and also running 4 overhead lights with switches. Ever since Ruto had hooked up her solar panel, her children of six drastically improved their school grades from having light in their home as well as avoiding burns from kerosene lamps.

Sara Ruto holds a small solar-powered LED light, part of a system that also charges cell phones, at her home in Kiptusuri, Kenya. Ruto, who used to travel miles to charge her mobile phone at the nearest town with electricity, purchased a solar panel for about $80 to charge her phone and power several lights.

Ed Ou / New York Times News Service

Thanks to this solar panel, Sara Ruto no longer takes a three-hour taxi ride to a town with electricity to recharge her cellphone.(Ed Ou/The New York Times)