2024 - THE LIGHT WAY

THE LIGHT WAY
The proposal seeks to transform the nighttime landscape of boarding secondary schools in Tanzania by utilizing the ability of light-emitting cement to illuminate walkways. This innovative solution aims to enhance the safety, functionality, and sustainability of these educational spaces, while also considering the dynamic effects of light on students’ well-being.

Many boarding secondary schools in Tanzania face challenges with insufficient electricity and limited funds for maintaining electric lighting systems. As a result, outdoor spaces, including the critical walkways connecting classrooms to dormitories, are often left in darkness during the night hours when students are going back to their dormitories for sleeping after engaging in night preparatory studies. The project proposes to incorporate light-emitting cement into the surface of these walkways, allowing them to absorb solar energy during the day and emit it as visible light at night. This simple yet effective solution widens the boundaries of solar energy usage, ensuring that students can safely navigate their school grounds even after the sun has set.

Kibaha secondary school is one among many boarding government secondary schools in the Coastal region of Tanzania which have included utilizing night hours for the students to have enough time of personal studies. This proposal shows the missing requirement of outdoor lighting in the landscape walk ways of the school of over 600 students who study and live its compound. Due to the absences of outdoor lighting during night, over the past two years there was 15 students with broken leg or hand after falling down and other 3 students had snake bite; all these cases have occurred during night as students move back to their dormitories after night studies.

However, this school have an exciting record of academic excellence over years in Tanzania with some notable alumni like the former president of Tanzania Hon. Jakaya M. Kikwete and former national assembly speaker Hon. Job Ndugai making the school to be an important academic institution. The school is one among many others which need its academic environment to be improved. Incorporating the light emitting cement in the landscape walkways of these schools will enhance the academic excellency by improving the safety to the students when using them during night.

How light emitting cement will illuminate the walk ways?
Light emitting cement traps solar energy during the day and emit it as visible light at night eventually creating safe environment for student when using them after night studies on their way back to the dormitories. This innovative material has an impressive life span of over 100 years making it a cost-effective solution in the long run compared to traditional electricity-based lighting systems. Additionally, by harnessing the power of the sun, we minimize the reliance on finite energy sources and contribute to a more environmentally friendly learning environment.

The Construction Process
The construction process involves mixing sand, gravel, cement, and water, followed by the addition of a light emitting pigment composed of titanium powder, resin, and sulphide powder. The mixture is then casted as a layer on a well-compacted soil layer of the walkway, allowed to set and harden, and cured for a few days to ensure the concrete develops. The incorporation of light emitting cement in the landscape walkways of Kibaha secondary school will not only improve the safety of students but also enhance the overall academic environment by providing a secure and well-lit path for students to use during night hours. This project demonstrates the potential of innovative materials and technologies to address real-world challenges and improve the quality of life for students in Tanzania.