In Ethiopia, solar lanterns are being used by girls to prevent becoming child-brides.

In Ethiopia 40% of girls are married before the age of 18, even though child marriage is illegal.

It is estimated that every day 39 thousand girls become child brides, with UNICEF estimating that in the next 10 years over 100 million girls will be forced into marriage before they turn 18. Additionally, of that 100 million, 50 million of them will be married before the age of 15. Despite the physical, mental, and emotional trauma these girls will face, little has been done to help slow these numbers and liberate these women. Child marriage is a disgusting human rights violation which robs girls of their education, rights to their bodies, and often forces them into motherhood before they are mentally and physically ready to carry a pregnancy and raise a child. Girls are often married off by their families as a source of income, as the families they are marrying into will give their family money or live stock in return for their daughters.

Girls in communities such as Diate, Ethiopia are now being provided solar lamps by an NGO know as The Population Council. The organization requires the fathers of these girls to sign an agreement saying that they will not marry their daughters off once they receive the lamps, and that they will support them through their education. Girls have found a way to use the lamps to study in the evening, and to create business’ charging phones during the day. After being given the lamp in September of 2018, one girl began charging people five birr (Ethiopian currency) to charge a phone and has been able to charge four to five phones a day. She did this every day and by January she was able to save up enough money to purchase a goat, which she can use for milk and to create cheese to feed herself and her family, as well as to sell to supplement her income.

Only 27% of people in Ethiopia have access to electricity in their homes, with solar equipment being too expensive for them to purchase. The lanterns given out by The Population Council cost 800 birr, the equivalent of $28 USD. The NGO provides the girls with training on how to charge and use the lanterns, how to fix them when they have technical issues, and how to use them to charge mobile phones. Studies show that girls involved in the project are 90% less likely to be married before 18, and three times more likely to complete their education.

By: Devon Clare Banfield