President Ma Ying-jeou said Tuesday that Taiwan's ongoing efforts to promote solar-powered LED lighting in Africa could bring new life to Taiwan's troubled LED and solar power industries.
Referring to the "A Light for Africa" project sponsored by Taiwan in Burkina Faso, Ma said Taiwan's ultimate goal is to allow all 2 million students from 11,000 elementary schools in the West African nation to own one of the Taiwan-provided lights.
"'A Light for Africa' probably can create a different industry," he said, adding that two Taiwanese manufacturers have already invested in Burkina Faso.
According to Ma, the landlocked country has a serious power shortage, with only 15 percent of locations in the capital city getting sufficient electricity supplies at night.
Under these circumstances, each Burkinabe family needs at least one solar-powered LED light, which means commercial opportunities, Ma said.
"A light costing US$10 may be the hope of the future (for Burkinabes)," he said.
Under the "A Light for Africa" project, photovoltaic power generating systems have been installed in participating schools and each student has been given an LED lighting kit equipped with a rechargeable battery that lasts for four-and-a-half hours. The children can recharge their lamps at school and bring them home to use at night.
The president, who is in Burkina Faso on a state visit, toured two elementary schools that have benefited from the project Tuesday.
He later went to the home of one of the students at night and was touched to see four children lying on a straw mat studying under their Taiwan-provided light.
Roch Marc Christian Kabore, president of the National Assembly of Burkina Faso, who accompanied Ma on the visit, recalled that he often had to study under street lights when he was young, but described the experience as "part of life."
Greatly impressed, Ma said Kabore's story demonstrates that anyone, irrespective of their humble birth, stands a chance of success as long as they work hard.
Ma also said he felt ashamed about Taiwan's wasteful use of electricity after seeing how Burkinabes cherish their scanty resources.
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