solar lanterns saving lives, lighting up kenya -

(CNN)--
Every night, thousands of children in Kenya sit down and do their homework with kerosene. powered light.
However, soot emitted from burning lights is not only an environmental hazard, but toxic smoke can cause serious harm to children and expose them to the risk of respiratory diseases.
Alice enjery and her two sisters and their children live in a place called Kayole on the outskirts of Nairobi.
Indoor pollution is hard to bear, she said.
\"The kerosene lamps smoke and bring eye problems to my children, and the smoke will make them cry,\" she said . \".
The United Nations Environment Programme says more women die from smoking in rural Kenya.
Diseases related to malaria and tuberculosis.
This smoke comes from cooking and lighting fuel.
Inflammatory substances in kerosene lamps are linked to everything from cancer to behavioral defects.
There are also safety risks with these lights as they can easily be knocked down and cause a fire at home.
According to the CIA world live report, only families in Kenya have electricity.
It is estimated that lighting needs in about three countries in Kenya depend on kerosene lamps.
A company is working to change the situation and plans to replace 1 million kerosene lamps with solar energypowered ones.
This is an ambitious project, but the team believes that it will indeed make a difference for people who live in rural Kenya and have no electricity supply.
\"Solar lights have a huge impact on health, education, productivity and overall improvement of people\'s quality of life,\" said Joseph Nganga of Solanterns, a renewable energy enterprise
Its lanterns cost about $25, powered by solar panels that charge lithium-ion batteries.
It has covered more than 1,500 families, says Solanterns.
This is partly due to the purchase and distribution of 500 lanterns by USAID around Nairobi.
But the team still has a long way to go if it wants to achieve it.
\"We want to expand the supply of solar lanterns through a wider range of product offerings to meet different consumer needs and budgets,\" said Nganga . \".
\"It is crucial to achieve the goal of replacing 1 million kerosene lanterns with 1 million solar lanterns,\" he added . \".
The company said that each Lantern will reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 135 and save 52 liters of kerosene during its service life.
This means that the environmental benefits of using solar lights will save fuel costs for families.
The organization estimates that more than three
During the year, the family will save $140 in lighting costs, making solar lights cheaper than kerosene lamps in the long termrun.
Also living in Kayole, there was a son in the last year of elementary school.
\"Because of the current lifestyle and the high fuel prices, I can\'t always manage to buy kerosene,\" she said.
\"Sometimes my child has homework that he can\'t do, so the lantern really helped me.
\"Solar lighting is also considered a better result for school children.
According to the study by Solantern, more than half of children living in families with solar lanterns are able to learn more than two hours a night.
\"My child is performing differently now because he can\'t do his homework and study with a kerosene lamp at night,\" Leah added . \".
\"He\'s doing a lot better now.
Njeri said that in addition to using lamp lights at home, she also used solar lights at the market booth at night.
The company\'s manufacturer said that since the product is no longer destroyed by the smoke of the kerosene lamp, it can lead to better sales of fruit and vegetable stalls.
\"My child told me not to go back to the kerosene lamp, but to bury it,\" Njeri said . \".