Unite to light blog

Lighting Ghana in Honor of Professor Anani Dzidzienyo

Last year, a group of students from Tema International School boarded a flight from the United States back to Ghana carrying something unusual in their luggage: hundreds of small solar lights.


Carefully packed into suitcases, the lights traveled thousands of miles across the Atlantic as part of a student-led mission to bring safe, reliable light to communities where darkness still shapes daily life.


When the students landed in Accra, the journey wasn’t over. Some of the lights would travel another 18 hours by bus to reach rural villages where families often rely on kerosene lamps and children struggle to study after sunset.
Each light represents something simple, but powerful: the chance for a student to read at night, a teacher to prepare lessons, or a family to move safely after dark.


This journey of light is part of an ongoing partnership between Unite to Light and Tema International School—one that continues to grow through student leadership, community collaboration, and a shared belief that access to light can create opportunity.
This distribution of solar lights also honors the life and legacy of Anani Dzidzienyo—a pioneering scholar at Brown University who remained deeply connected to his homeland throughout his life.

Students Leading the Way


The partnership between Unite to Light and Tema International School began in 2021, when students and faculty helped distribute 200 Solar Chargers and 1,000 Luke Lights to communities across Ghana. The effort demonstrated the powerful role young people can play in expanding access to clean, reliable energy.
That moment sparked the next phase of the project.

Student Leaders from Tema International School load solar Luke Lights into a truck for distribution.

A Journey Across Continents


Getting solar lights to the communities that need them most is rarely simple.
After the journey across the Atlantic, volunteers repacked boxes to meet transportation requirements and coordinated with local partners who know these regions best. Additional shipments are planned this year, including another group of lights traveling with students this summer.
In total, this effort aims to distribute 1,500 solar lights across Ghana.

Luke Lights on the last leg of their journey.

Lighting Communities Without Electricity

In the communities receiving lights, access to electricity is limited or nonexistent.
Families often rely on kerosene lamps for light—an expensive and dangerous option that produces smoke and increases the risk of burns or house fires.


Solar lights provide a safer alternative. Students can study after dark, teachers can prepare lessons in the evening, and families can move safely at night.


In some villages, women begin their workdays as early as 3:00 a.m., walking into the forest to gather shea nuts, which are later processed into shea butter—a vital source of income for many families. The work begins long before sunrise, while the forest is still completely dark.
Without reliable lighting, the early morning hours can be dangerous. Women must navigate uneven paths and dense brush while watching for snakes and other hazards.


With reliable light in hand, women can see where they’re walking, avoid dangerous obstacles, and return home with light that continues to serve their families throughout the evening.


What begins as a tool for work before sunrise often becomes a light for children to study by that night.

Honoring a Scholar’s Legacy

This phase of the project also honors Professor Anani Dzidzienyo, whose life and work bridged cultures, continents, and generations.

Born in Ghana, Professor Anani became a pioneering scholar of Afro-Latin American literature and culture at Brown University. His dedication to education and global understanding inspired countless students and colleagues.

Tema students visit Professor Anani's ancestral homeland: Anyako - Volta Region and distribute solar Luke Lights

As part of this initiative, solar lights are being distributed in Anyako, his ancestral hometown, helping extend his legacy of education and opportunity to future generations.

The distribution coincided with celebrations surrounding Ghana Independence Day, a powerful reminder that freedom is about more than political independence—it is also about access, opportunity, and dignity.

The Power of Partnership

What makes this effort unique is the network of people working together to make it possible.
Students at Tema International School are helping lead logistics and outreach. Unite to Light supporters in the United States are helping source and transport lights. Family members and local partners in Ghana are ensuring the lights reach communities that need them most.
Together, they demonstrate how a global community can come together to solve local challenges.

And the work is far from finished.

Help Bring Light to More Communities

Access to safe, reliable light changes lives.

A single solar light can replace dangerous kerosene lamps, reduce household expenses, improve safety, and allow students to study long after the sun sets.
With additional support, Unite to Light and our partners at Tema International School hope to continue expanding this work—bringing solar light to even more communities across Ghana.

Support Unite to Light Ghana

Your support helps put light directly into the hands of people who need it most.

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