Binta Manga's community, the village of Kambueb in rural Senegal, isn't connected to the Senegalese national electricity grid. This not only means that everyday tasks - such as cooking, charging mobile phones, studying and doing anything after dark - are more difficult, but it is also a major obstacle to the development of the community. Unfotunately, the village of Kambueb is not alone. In some areas south of the Sahara, a few as 2% of villages have access to electricity.

Solar Sisters cooking an Indian dish using a solar-powered oven. To see more pictures of the women in India, click here.

The Tostan Solar Power! Project, launched in 2009 in collaboration with the Barefoot College , India, aims to address this issue by empowering rural communities across Africa to provide electricity for themselves.

Through the Solar Power! Project, Tostan sponsors women from rural Africa to attend the Barefoot College in India, where they complete a six-month training program in solar electrical engineering. The training is comprehensive, providing participants with the knowledge and skills to install, maintain and repair solar panels in their respective home villages, often far from the electricity grid. To see more photos of the women at the Barefoot College in India, click here.

The Tostan-Barefoot College Partnership seeks to build on the dedication and capabilities of African women to provide a low-cost and, crucially, a sustainable source of electricity. To read more about the launch of Tostan-Barefoot College partnership, including the remarks of Tostan Executive Director, Molly Melching, click here.

The Tostan Solar Sisters from Senegal and Djibouti

In early 2009, the first Tostan-sponsored ‘Solar Sisters’ – twelve extraordinary women nominated by their villages in rural Senegal and Djibouti – traveled thousands of kilometers from Africa to the Barefoot College, India, to begin their training to be trained as solar power engineers.

Tostan Volunteer Coordinator in Senegal, Sarah Nehrling, recalls the mixture of nerves and excitement amongst the seven Senegalese participants as they embarked on their journey. Aged between 41 and 55, all but one of the women live in the same villages where they were born, many had never traveled outside their region in which their homes are located and none of the women had ever traveled outside of Senegal. Sarah describes the pride she felt in escorting the seven phenomenal women through the airport, the disbelief of the airport staff and the comfort she felt in knowing that when these seven women returned they would be equipped to ‘light up all of Senegal’. You can read Sarah’s moving account of the women’s departure here.

Solar Sisters meeting the Senegalese Minister for Women at a national press conference. Click here to see more photos of the Solar Sisters back in Senegal.

In September 2009, six months after their departure, seven of the first Tostan-sponsored ‘Solar Sisters’, returned home to Senegal. The Senegalese Minister for Women met with the Tostan Solar Sisters to discuss the project and their experiences in India. The Senegalese Government also reiterated its support for what the women had achieved and declared its commitment to replicate the project in communities throughout Senegal. To see more photos of the Senegalese Solar Sisters return, click here.

The women's return from India, however, was not the end of their journey. Each of the 12 women will now install one solar unit in at least 50 homes, providing one fixed lamp, one bright solar lantern, one LED flashlight, and one plug for charging mobile phones for each household. That means at least 400 people will now directly benefit from each women's efforts - with thousands more to benefit in the years to come.

What's more, the women will be able to train other women from neighboring rural communities in solar electrical engineering, thus providing them with a means of income. For women like Doussou Konate, who farmed millet and peanuts to earn a meager income to support her family, earning an income as a Solar Power Trainer will be absolutely life-changing.

Stay tuned in to hear about the return of the Djiboutian women and the progress all 12 women make in their home villages!

The Barefoot College

The Barefoot College, established in 1971, has spent decades perfecting a training model that enables adult women from India and Africa, often semi-literate or illiterate, to become Solar Power Engineers. To date, more than 500,000 families have benefited from Barefoot College Training programs. The Barefoot College has recently been selected as a finalist in the BBC World Challenge 2009 - a competition that champions and rewards grass-roots initiatives that make a real difference.

You can support Tostan's partner, the Barefoot College, by voting for them to win the World Challenge 2009 here! (Polls close on November 13th 2009 - so VOTE NOW!)

	Mariama Bamba from Soudiane is best known for two things: her contagious smile and passion for her community. The people of Soudiane are overjoyed to have Mariama back in her home village, to view pictures of Mariama's welcome home, click here. To read more about Mariama and her active role in Soudiane's development, click here .

	Mame Diarra Aidara from Kobongoye has been involved with Tostan since 1999. She worked hard with the Community Management Committee to establish a sustainable food bank in case of emergency. To learn more about Mame Diarra, click here.

	Doussou Konate is a mother of 6 from Deur Simbara, Senegal. Before the Tostan Community Empowerment Program was implemented in her village she had never had any formal schooling. Doussou is now a fully trained solar power engineer, to read her story, click here.

	Binta Manga from Kambueb has travelled extensively to support the rights of women and children. With Tostan's support, Binta has been able to travel even further, 20,000km to India and back again! She is now back in her village establishing solar power for her community. To learn more about Binta, click here.

	Madioula Sylla attended school until the seventh grade. When Madioula was thirteen years old, her father promised her in marriage to her cousin, against the expressed wishes of both Madioula and her mother. The Tostan CEP and Solar Power! Project has given Madioula the opportunity to return to education. To learn more about Madioula, click here.

	Mariam Tamboura from Katoté has served as both president and treasurer of the Anna Lindh foundation, an organisation within her community dedicated to the promotion and protection of women's rights. She was selected by her community to train to be a solar power engineer and hopes that this will help her to improve the role of women within her community. To read more of Mariam's story, click here.