By the end of May 2014, BHN Association completed installation of a solar power system in the High School of Paung Village.

 

School rooms are now lit with LED lamps and a large screen (50 inches) TV set with a video player is used for visual studies. Dormitories for teachers and the school toilets are now also lit brightly.

 

　

After the construction works, trainings were conducted in June for enabling the local people to maintain the system after it is transferred to them.

The village of Paung is located about 50km from Hpa An, the capital of Karen (=Kayin) State, and many families of refugees are gradually returning to the villages around this area after the ceasefire between the central government and KNU (Karen National Union) has been established.

The high school has 126 students coming from 17 neighboring villages. Many of the high school students are staying overnight in the school to study until late hours to prepare for exams for higher education, however, lack of funds prevented running a dynamo until late at night so as to satisfy the needs of the students.

 

BHN is now preparing to build a system of the same type in another high school in another village where many refugees are returning.

 

Hirofumi Aizawa, Project Manager