At Shinga Development Trust’s Lerato Children’s Home, nearly two dozen orphaned and abandoned children were living in darkness this past year. The country has struggled with crippling, rolling blackouts, leaving the children and millions of Zimbabweans without electricity for roughly 20 hours a day.

For us and our longtime partner, Margaret Makambira, who had just in the past year completed construction of the children’s home – the situation was untenable.

“Zimbabwe is experiencing blackouts up to 20 hours daily cause lots of distractions to the orphans at the home,” reported Margaret in November. “Children cannot do their school assignments, and food is going bad.

“The need of solar instillation is crucial so life can be easier for the children,” she said.

She turned to us, and we turned to our supporters, who quickly and generously provided the $3,000 necessary to install solar panels. This will ensure that Margaret and the children in her care will have all the electricity they need – and at no cost for years to come!