For a brighter future: Sonnenglas® donates light for children in the Soweto township
Since last year, a small preschool in Kliptown in the Soweto township has been shining a little brighter: 50 of our Sonnenglas® Classic solar lamps now provide light where it is urgently needed.
Before our beloved Sonnenglas® make their way to us in Germany and the rest of the world, their story begins in South Africa, a country where many things are not as self-evident as they are here in Western countries - for example, a stable electricity supply.
Originally, today's Sonnenglas® solar lamps were actually developed as a fully-fledged source of light for people living in such areas. Today, more than 65 full-time employees from the townships of Alexandra and Soweto work in ourSonnenglas® factory in Johannesburg, lovingly producing the solar lamps by hand so that the South African sun can shine all the way to us. The production of the glasses not only creates important jobs for previously unemployed men and women from the region, it also gives their families a more promising outlook for the future. Of course, there is much more help needed in the country, and the younger generation in particular is dependent on support and development aid.
Many children live in poverty, their parents are unemployed, often they no longer have parents at all. Without support and access to education, it is virtually impossible for children from the townships to break the vicious circle of material poverty and diseases such as HIV/Aids.
One association that is committed to the future of these children is Go Ahead! e.V. - an NGO with exclusively volunteer staff who, in addition to their actual activities (studies, job, etc.), work for more educational justice. Young adults from Germany enable children and young people in southern Africa to have sustainable prospects by supporting educational projects.
The future of children determines the future of the country
Project manager James Mason presents principal Maggy with the 50 sun glasses/Sonnenglas®
One of Go Ahead! e.V.'s projects is the pastoral pre-school in Kliptown in Soweto Township in Johannesburg, not far from Sonnenglas® factory.
Magedline Mdladla "Maggy", the head of the school, is working with her team and local teachers to give the children a better future. 250 children are currently being prepared for elementary school here and are learning subjects such as English, reading, writing, music and art. Around 50,000 people currently live in Kliptown, but without infrastructure, legal electricity or running water. 25% of the population is HIV positive. In addition to the lessons, the school provides a safe place for the children to meet their peers, play together without fear and receive at least one hot meal a day. To support this great project a little, James Mason, our project manager on site in South Africa, and Stefan Neubig, CEO of Sonnenglas®, Maggy and the children, presented a donation of light in the form of 50 Sonnenglas® Classic lamps last year. Since then, not only has the school in Soweto been shining a little brighter, but hopefully also the future of the children here - because their future is crucial for the future of the country.
Author: Nele Wein