A Box Full of Light Saves Lives

Solar panels, lights, and battery chargers.  All that's needed to give doctors and patients a chance when the power goes out.  Photo/We Care Solar

cbcradio - February 29, 2012

They were in the middle of surgery again when the power went out in the Nigerian operating room.

Luckily, a visiting American doctor had a flashlight.

But Laura Stachel figured there had to be a way around the recurring problem.

And with husband Hal Aronson, a solar energy educator in California, they came up with something called the Solar Suitcase.

She joined us while unpacking one in a maternity clinic in another part of Africa to explain how it's providing lifesaving light.

Dr. Laura Stachel at work with her Solar Suitcase in Sierra Leone. She's co-founder of WE CARE Solar, creating technology to benefit maternal health in the developing world.

http://wecaresolar.org/

http://www.cbc.ca/dispatches/news-promo/2012/02/29/a-box-full-of-light-and-life/