Schneider Electric, the leader in the digital transformation of energy management and automation has donated 300 Mobiya Lite solar lights, and in partnership with the University of Johannesburg, eight solar streetlights to Rays of Hope, a social outreach programme based in the Alexandra Township in northern Johannesburg, Gauteng.

The Mobiya Lite lights provide approximately 600 Rays of Hope beneficiary children with safe and green lighting during power disruptions.  The solar streetlights have been installed to illuminate the very dark areas around the Rays of Hope premises which doesn’t have access to the traditional grid infrastructure. 

Says Nomathemba Tshabalala, youth beneficiary of the Mobiya Lite donation: “I stress less about studying at night. In Alex the load shedding schedule doesn’t really apply. There are times we go days without electricity, so having the Mobiya light has been an answer to prayer because I use it when I study at night. It is also very useful when it comes to charging our phones.”

“Despite our efforts to fortify Rays of Hope’s premises, the darkness continued to compromise our security.  Thanks to Schneider Electric and UJ, our premises are now clearly illuminated at night and subsequent visibility and security, greatly improved,” says Muziwethu Zwane, CEO of Rays of Hope Alexandra.

Schneider Electric has supported Rays of Hope with various impactful initiatives over the last 10 years, endeavouring to provide sustainable access to energy solutions. amongst others, to the community of Alexandra:

• In-Diya solar lamps donated and installed in 2014 at the child-headed homes, with solar battery-charging stations, solar panels and batteries installed at the (Rays of Hope) facility to minimise the risk of theft of solar panels at the homes
• Built and donated a new concept solar charging station in 2017, made from repurposed wood pallets from the company’s distribution centre, consisting of cubes to hold the lamps and solar panels located at the top; 40 Mobiya solar lights and four of these charging stations were donated.

These donations to Rays of Hope form part of Schneider Electric’s global Access to Energy programme which aims to provide 50 million people access to clean electricity, train one million people, and support 10,000 entrepreneurs by 2025. In Africa, the company’s Access to Energy programme has connected more than 25 million people, trained 28,000 people in 90 plus training centres situated in 27 countries. 

“Once again, we feel privileged to play a small part in the tremendous work that Rays of Hope does on a daily basis in Alex. We would also like to thank the University of Johannesburg for partnering with us to donate and install the eight solar streetlights at Rays of Hope,” says Carina van Zyl, Corporate Citizenship Leader for Anglophone Africa at Schneider Electric. 

Rays of Hope has since its inception in 1991, grown into a network of community-based programmes, focusing on learning and development, psychosocial support and family care.  400 children and their families are currently part of Rays of Hope’s programmes, and the NGO has impacted thousands of people through the years.