High in the hills of Mbale District, Kilulu B village is getting a new kind of power for learning, and it comes from the sun.
At the center of this change are Malenje Simon, the Local Council I Chairperson, and Grace Kayegi, who runs Good Journey Nursery and Primary School.
Together they are working to make sure more than 300 children, many from poor families and orphan backgrounds, get a real chance at quality education.
Good Journey School started in 2016 and quickly became a place of hope for the area. But the school kept losing time because of blackouts. The national grid failed up to three times every week, often for more than six hours. That meant evening study was impossible, morning prep was cut short, and Primary Seven candidates preparing for PLE lost hours they needed to revise.
Plans for a boarding section also stalled because the school could not keep lights on safely at night.
“Learners often had to return home early, limiting their learning hours. Our candidates suffered most because they did not get enough time to read,” Kayegi explains.
As PLE 2025 drew closer, candles and kerosene lamps were too risky and too costly. So Malenje decided to switch to solar. Through Sun King, a leading solar company in Uganda, the school bought a Home Plus Pro system at a reduced price. The system has bright, high-efficiency lights and a battery that can keep classrooms lit through the night on one charge.
The timing was perfect. Installed just weeks before national exams, the solar power changed everything overnight. Pupils could now study in the evenings and start early in the mornings without interruptions.
The system was made affordable through the Results-Based Financing Program run by Equity Bank Uganda, Energizing Development Uganda and GIZ. That program gives incentives to solar suppliers so schools and homes can buy clean energy at a lower cost.
The results came fast. In one year, enrollment at Good Journey rose from 250 to 310 pupils and is still growing. School revenue increased from Shs3.5 million to Shs5 million per term. Study hours went up because morning and evening classes became reliable. With more learners, the school also hired more teachers.
“Solar energy has done more than illuminate classrooms,” Malenje says.
“With stable lighting, our candidates now have more time to concentrate on their studies. Better performance in national examinations attracts more learners, which allows us to hire more teachers and create jobs. As village chairman, I am proud that children who might otherwise be idle now have a chance at a better future.”
Beyond light, solar has made the school safer, improved learning outcomes, and given the community new confidence in education as a way out of poverty.
Encouraged by this, Malenje now plans to expand the system to power the whole school, including teachers’ quarters and a future boarding section. His next goal is a solar-powered water pump that would bring clean water to both the school and nearby homes.
Good Journey’s story shows how solar energy can solve problems where the national grid cannot reach. In Kilulu B, solar panels are not just producing electricity.
They are producing more study time, better grades, more pupils in class, new jobs, and fresh hope.
