Without access to education, vital life skills and health information on HIV/AIDS and malaria, most children living in rural areas in developing countries are unable to break the cycle of poverty.  Radio can play a vital role in educating young populations, but with little or no access to electricity and with batteries either unaffordable or inaccessible, even an education by radio is beyond the reach of hundreds of thousands of impoverished children. 

In this context, the solar-powered, wind-up Lifeline radio makes sense.  The radio, heard by a class of up to 40 children, ensures sustained access to education and information in remote schools and community centres.  Radio schools or distance learning programs administered through self-powered Lifeline radios ensure that children most at risk receive consistent high basic quality education and information.

What are some of the positive impacts of radio school programs?

• Empowered children who resist hazardous, subsistence-wage employment (i.e. child labor).
• Greater income security (through improved education) which brings improved health and family stability.
• Improved education standards as more teachers benefit from the improved methodology and innovative teaching techniques despite limited facilities, equipment and access to materials.

Here are some recent projects in this area: