Philips Gift of Light - Democratic Republic of Congo

Philips Gift of Light Congo is improving lives in the Democratic Republic of Congo with a range of high-quality, long lasting and sustainable products like solar lighting and energy efficient cookstoves.

Fast facts:

This activity has built one Light Center to serve community, social and sports activities at night;
The activity has also distributed solar LED lanterns to the Village Medical Center, three schools, selected households and entrepreneurs.

The problem

Across Africa, more than 600 million people live without access to electricity and cook using kerosene or paraffin which can negatively impact their health and well-being. For most families living without access to affordable electricity, the day begins and ends in darkness cutting short on family time, study time and play time.

The solution

Philips Gift of Light Congo aims to combat these obstacles and improve lives with a range of high-quality, long lasting products. Products include a Philips Cookstove, a Philips Lifelight Plus, a Philips Lifelight Home and a Philips Lifelight. The cookstoves are fan-driven and utilize wood and other biomass for cooking purposes. The Lifelight products derive their power from solar panels and vary in amount of charge.

Helping the planet

Philips Cookstoves use no kerosene, paraffin or charcoal. They are battery powered and a full battery charge can last up to seven days. They can boil five litres of water in just 20 minutes and are made of high-quality, long-lasting stainless steel. Philips Solar Lamps are powered by the sun and are 10 times brighter than kerosene lamps. They reduce the amount of kerosene and paraffin used in the home, making them safer from fires. They are modern, sturdy and long-lasting and can even charge a cell phone for free. They provide up to 40 hours of lighting after only one day of charging.

Helping people

Philips is building Community Light Centers which offer LED outdoor lighting powered by a sustainable solar power unit, for people and communities who lack access to electricity. The Community Light Centers can be built on areas between 1,000 and 7,000 square meters and can now be lit without electricity costs, enabling social and economic development. The Philips Community Life Center is a health facility turned community hub where technology is bundled with services. The technology package includes solar power (for a reliable and clean energy supply), efficient and durable indoor and outdoor LED-lighting (enabling extended opening hours and providing security to patients and staff health care equipment (to enable patient monitoring, diagnosis and triage), laboratory equipment (especially for antenatal care tests), refrigeration (preventing spoiling of vaccines), IT-solutions (storage of patient data) and water supply and purification (preventing waterborne diseases).

Scaling Up

With the help of generous donations from around the world, this activity can deliver solar lamps and stoves to remote families. The Philips Foundation matches donations up to a total value of EUR 50,000 to create and even bigger impact for underprivileged communities in East and South Africa.