HPH NOW, August 4, 2006, Former Takemi Fellow Wins World Bank Award for Bringing Light Sources to Rural India

Ranganayakulu Bodavala, center, with Paul Wolfowitz, president of The World Bank (right), and with another finalist

Though India produces large amounts of electricity, several regions in the country are devoid of grid power. In the hilly, forested Orissa area, there are tribes of people called Kondh whose nights are lit dimly only by kerosene. This fuel produces light, but not at a strength adequate for reading. The fuel also pollutes the air and can cause horrific fires that can race through a community where homes are attached to each other. Moreover, kerosene is available only at government-operated dispensaries, which can be miles away from these remote villages. It's considered an affordable fuel, but only because the Indian government underwrites most of the cost.

Ranganayakulu Bodavala, or Ranga, a 1999-2000 Takemi Fellow at HSPH, is determined to provide the Kondh and others with alternative light sources. His organization, THRIVE (Volunteers for Rural Health, Education, and Information Technology), won an award recently from The World Bank (www.developmentmarketplace.org) to provide 200 villages with non-kerosene light sources that will make it easier for students to study at home, for villagers to earn more money by continuing their work past nightfall, and for people to keep homes clean and safe from pests, especially snakes, which are common in the area.

"I hail from a small agriculture family, and wanted to do things that would help farmers and others," explained Ranga, who finished the Takemi Program in International Health in 2000. The program brings young and mid-career professionals to HSPH for 10 months to undertake research that will strengthen the health capabilities and improve the health policy of developing countries.

When Ranga returned to India, he used his new skills in GIS and health informatics to bring business management techniques to the public health system.

He said that his year as a Takemi Fellow made him a sought-after consultant, so he took on projects with an eye toward setting up a non-profit organization that would improve public health and make use of technology. THRIVE was the result.

One of the organization's first projects was addressing the lack of lighting in regions such as southern Orissa. Ranga organized a team to experiment with sources of alternative and renewable energies. Eventually, they investigated white LED, or light emitting diodes. LED technology is clean and reliable and can produce a strong and useful light. The inexpensive diodes are safe to use in thatch houses and are easy to operate.

"We improved the LED circuits and tested various combinations until we found a product that would work for us," Bodavala said in a recent e-mail. THRIVE's innovative home lighting system includes a box with one or two LED lights, plus a battery that runs for four hours a day for about 15 to 20 days before it needs charging.

For more, visit http://www.thrive.in/index.htm.

--PHC