Bringing energy to build up families

Circle of Light - Energy to lift the world's poor out of darkness

CoL cooking and lighting systems are bringing families closer together.

Circle of Light (CoL) continually strives to not only meet the physical needs of poor African families—through light and cooking systems—but to reflect, teach and encourage biblical values. And where do people usually learn such values? In the home. The provision of cooking and lighting systems has had a profound effect on family life. Now that CoL homes are free of smoke from open fires and lights are available in the evening, Africans are finding that their family lives are flourishing.

“When the light goes out [due to the battery needing to be recharged], my family feels a missing link and my children are sad,” says Samuel Kebenei, who says his children are doing much better in school. Neighbor children flock to the Kebenei home the night before exams to study under the CoL light. “This has strengthened the families in the area because we have the united goal of improving our children’s education,” he adds. Plus, since his children aren’t spending hours gathering wood, Kebenei says he has had more time to talk with them.

Joseph Ndungu from Murereshwa says he’s also enjoying his children more. “My family is having more quality time together with the availability of propane and the CoL light,” Ndungu says. “The family shares the load of meal preparation, and I am even learning my way around the kitchen. Cooking with my wife has improved our communication skills and, ultimately, our marriage.”

“When families do things together, it brings a strong binding and sense of belonging to one another and this increases love in the homes and the entire community,” says Servanthood and Light Co-Director Josephine Chesang. Before receiving cooking and lighting systems, couples are required to attend a training session together on how to use them. At the Marakwet training, only the men came, recalls Chesang, who leads the CoL training sessions. She sent them home and they returned the next day with their wives to learn not only about the kits but also the Gospel of Christ and family life.

“We learned a lot as a couple during the CoL training, which not only trains about lighting and cooking but also about family relationships,” explains Kobos resident Japheth Asuda, who says he also quarrels less with his two daughter and four sons. “My children have improved their performances both in school and at home through the conducive lighting system. In the past, I quarreled with them about their performances, but I am happy nowadays, and they never go to school late due to availability of propane.”

Whether it’s lights that help children learn better or a stove that makes it fun for husbands to pitch in at mealtime, Circle of Light continues to cause ripple-effect changes in the poor communities of rural Africa. The safer, healthier home environment is bringing families closer together and closer to the Lord.