In eastern Uganda the small village of Chemangang clings to the steep slopes of Mt. Elgon.  Houses of mud and thatch are scattered among the banana trees and coffee bushes.  The homes are well cared for and tidy, if somewhat precariously perched on the side of the hill.  

On a recent afternoon, I had the pleasure of taking a tour of the village homes and observing the homestead improvements that the men and women had made as part of the "Family Life Program" that the Mother's Union was sponsoring.  Each homeowner proudly showed off their home improvements:  hand-built efficient cookstoves, properly draining latrines, wash-stands outside of the latrines, well-tended vegetable gardens, terraces for the hillside coffee plants, new chicken coops and pig pens and cow sheds. As we concluded our tour of homes we gathered around a meal of matooki, Irish potatos and stewed chicken and the men and women took turns speaking of the benefits that resulted from these improvements:  fewer illnesses from better hygiene, improved diets with the addition of milk, vegetables, eggs, chicken and pork to provide variety for the staple matooki, improved income from selling the coffee beans and eggs. 

It was then my turn to show and tell.  Solar Sister is partnering with the Mother's Union Family Life Program to provide access to solar lanterns to Chemangang and other villages in the Sebei district of Uganda.  The solar lanterns will replace the toxic, expensive and unsafe kerosene lanterns that the villagers currently use for light.  All of the villagers gathered around as I brought out the solar lantern to demonstrate.  The men, women and children edged closer and closer as I talked about the ability of the lamp to catch the sunlight during the day and store it so that it could be used for light at night.  But since it was a beautiful sunny afternoon, it was hard to give a good demonstration of the brightness of the light.   What to do?  We moved the entire demonstration inside the nearest home, and since houses are built with only very small windows it was nearly pitch black inside.  I turned on the lamp and there was an audible gasp as the light filled the dark room with light.  Immediately the villagers began to ask for lanterns for their own homes.

The demand for lanterns was fantastic, with villagers literally lining up for their solar lanterns - until we explained that Solar Sister does not give the lanterns away.  They are available through a local "Solar Sister" who will take orders and sell the lanterns to the community.  A quiet settled over the group as they thought about this.  The women wandered off to talk among themselves while the men continued to test the lanterns and look them over.  But just as I was beginning to get disappointed that the initial rush had been all about getting something for free, one of the women came up to me and said, "We cannot afford these lanterns. Not one of us has enough money to buy a lantern today.  But, each week we have our Family Life Program meeting.  We each bring money to the meeting and put it together.  Next week we will use that money to buy a lantern for one family.  And the next week we will bring money and buy a lantern for the next family.   We will keep doing this until all of the families have lanterns."

I was floored.  Not only had the women come up with a plan to buy the lanterns, they had done it without any outside interference.  This was entirely their own solution.  Sarah, the Director of the Mother's Union later told me that they use this "Merry-go-round" financing to raise funds for community projects or to help out someone in need.  It is a brilliant blend of micro-finance and micro-savings and is self-administered within the group so it avoids costly fees and interest rates.  It is a lesson in trusting in the local solution to a local problem.