Light in the Dark Night

As evening approaches and darkness begins to fall here in Norway, we’re used to it taking a little while before it gets truly dark. That’s not the case in The Gambia. When evening comes and the sun goes down, it’s almost like flipping a switch. The light disappears and it becomes “night” almost immediately.

Another thing is the fact that here in Norway, we rarely experience it getting truly dark—at least not in or near cities and towns. We have streetlights, light from store windows, advertising signs, light from private homes, and lights along our main roads. That’s not the case in the poor neighborhoods of The Gambia, and certainly not in New Jeshwang, where our largest school is located. It gets truly dark, and that has its drawbacks. The night watchmen at the schools can’t see very far ahead—only as far as a flashlight might illuminate—and it becomes easier for uninvited guests to sneak onto the grounds.

That’s no longer the case. We’ve now installed beautiful and efficient lights on the school buildings and trees within the grounds—lights powered by solar panels that charge batteries during the day and provide “free light” all night long. Fantastic. All of this has been made possible thanks to a very generous donation from our sponsor, Kjersti Aas Hansen.

On behalf of our overjoyed night watchmen and the rest of us at Butterfly Friends, we just want to say a huge thank you!