Problem

Formal education in many countries in Africa is in disarray, with teachers dying of AIDS faster than they can be trained. Education rarely reaches the many children living in the poorest and most remote communities. Governments and educators have recognized that radio can fill the gap but without electricity and with no money to buy batteries, even an education by radio is beyond the reach of hundreds of thousands of impoverished, but eager youngsters.

The Gift

Your gift of a radio will ensure that essential education and practical information reaches those most in need. Lifeline radio, which needs no batteries or electricity, provides sustained access to quality education. Robustly constructed to operate in the harshest of conditions, the Lifeline is rugged, easy to use and plays for many hours on wind-up energy or solar power. As many as 40 children can gather together and learn. Children without parents, bringing up younger children can hear advice on how to boil water before drinking it and learn about AIDS, malaria and TB. In rural communities there is also a shortage of classrooms and trained teachers. Lifeline radio fills this void, providing sustainable access to school programmes for thousands of children who would otherwise have no education at all. At $64 a radio that means it costs less than $1.60 a head to educate a child for four years.