Photo courtesy, Unsplash!
THIS story is from India, Mordochka. It’s a true story about your favorite chin scratchers: grandmothers. I knew that would perk your ears up! Good boy!
At first, the Barefoot College in India only taught young men to be solar engineers. The college hoped the young men would bring light to their villages. The plan didn’t work: the men became solar engineers and then went to the city to find jobs. They didn’t go back to their villages.
Then the college made a surprising change: they invited grandmothers to learn how to bring light to their villages. The grandmothers couldn’t read or write, but they were eager to learn. Even more, the college knew they would never leave their villages where their grandchildren lived.
After six months, the grandmothers could make, repair and use solar lighting systems. They could make solar lanterns, solar water heaters, and solar cookers.
Before the grandmothers return to their villages, they teach more grandmothers. And so, year after year new grandmothers learn. They have now brought light to more than 10,000 families in 16 states in India.
—Story found through Newsela