When you think of Sudan perhaps the first thing that comes to mind is the humanitarian crisis in Darfur, or the country's recent referendum on splitting into two countries.

Whatever your thoughts, we doubt mention of that country brings energy efficient lighting to mind.  That’s why we were surprised and excited to hear from the Engineering a Brighter Sudan project.

In 2000, Mou Riiny — one of the Lost Boys of Sudan — left the war torn country and resettled in America.  Today Mou is a senior at the University of San Diego studying Electrical Engineering, and one of the leaders of the Engineering a Brighter Sudan project.

The project’s goal is to bring electricity to a primary school in the village of Theou, Sudan where Mou is from.  The project will include solar power generation, battery storage, a public charging station and lighting in the primary school. 

When we heard that the project needed a source of energy efficient lighting, we jumped at the chance to help.  After talking with the students leading the project, we offered to donate energy-efficient lighting fixtures for the classrooms and additional materials to assist in construction.

In most of the projects we’re involved with, our energy efficient lighting equipment helps facilities reduce their energy costs, but in this project, their effect will be more dramatic.

“Energy-efficient lights are an important piece of the project because they affect the overall size of the system and the cost of the project,” said  Emmett Perl, one of the students leading the project.

By using less energy for lighting, the overall energy requirements of the system are reduced, which reduces the cost of the overall project and leaves more energy available for other uses.

[P2] will also be providing an inverter which will convert direct current (DC) power from the battery bank to alternating current (AC), enabling the use of energy-efficient lights and standard electrical devices in the classrooms.

The project is being spearheaded by four University of San Diego engineering students – Emmett Perl, Enrique Rayon, Michael Rios and Mou Riiny. The students plan to travel to Sudan this summer to complete the installation.

Get Involved

The project is currently about 50% funded.  If you’d like to join us in supporting Engineering a Brighter Sudan (and you should) you can donate directly on the project’s site, or contact the project’s leaders to find other ways to help.

Village Help for South Sudan has been involved with the overall school project, and has been covering the project’s progress.