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While on sabbatical visiting Nepal’s University of Tribhuvan, University of Calgary professor David Irvine-Halliday became concerned about the availability of lighting and its effects on education and health. Local schools lacked adequate illumination for students, while families relied on candles and kerosene lamps to light their homes.
Irvine-Halliday realized that white light-emitting diodes (WLEDs) could help the communities he had visited in Nepal and rural areas throughout the developing world. Cheaper, more reliable, and more efficient than either compact fluorescent or incandescent bulbs, WLEDs could be used selectively in homes and schools to provide light where is was needed most. Families in rural areas could generate power through renewable methods: solar, wind, hydroelectric–even through the use of human-powered generators.
Irvine-Halliday created the Light Up the World Foundation, a nonprofit group that has supported development programs in forty-two countries by promoting micro-electricity generation and the installation of WLED lighting systems. The Foundation serves as an intermediary between community organizations, local businesses, and industries. Working closely with producers in North America and Europe to provide WLEDs, batteries, and other supplies, the Light Up the World Foundation helps reduce costs and demonstrate the viability of renewable energy and small-scale infrastructure development. Whenever possible the Foundation relies on local businesses to provide installation and support services, thereby creating a Keynesian multiplier effect for developing economies.
