Photovoltaic products manufacturer SolarWorld‘s Sun-TV Station project, launched in 2010, has fulfilled its aim to provide not only opportunities for communities to watch the 2010 FIFA World Cup games but also a long-term sustainable solution for education.

Each station comprise of a 42-inch TV set, with DVD player and satellite receiver. The power for the station is supplied by two 260 A/h batteries and an inverter, which is built into the cabinet. These batteries are charged using SolarWorld solar modules of 300 W each and are all monitored by a charge controller, also built into the cabinet.

SolarWorld Africa MD Gregor Küpper says the company installed the stations so that children in rural and urban areas can watch not only the FIFA World Cup in 2010 but also educational programmes in an environment that is safe and conducive to learning.

“We have installed the Sun-TV stations in more than 35 rural communities across the country and we have been maintaining these stations since 2010,” he adds.

SolarWorld says the community response has been overwhelmingly positive and the benefits of the project have gone beyond sports and into social and technological upliftment.

Grootbos, a small town in Gansbaai, in the Western Cape, is one of the areas in which a Sun-TV station was installed. Grootbos Foundation MD Léan Terblanche notes that the foundation uses the station to offer educational lessons to children, youth and adults from three different communities in the area.

“This is a point where the children can gather and have access to education and television in a safe environment. “Children in this area receive life- coaching, HIV, environmental and career education, as well as personal development training at the foundation with the assistance of the Sun-TV station,” he points out.

In Kliptown, Soweto, SolarWorld partnered with NDO-Atlus Sport to install the station.

“The youth and parents enjoy educational DVDs, as well as sports and nature programmes. The installation of the station has changed the community’s view on life and the world. “It has increased their general knowledge, as they are exposed to channels which enable them to explore avenues with which they were previously unfamiliar,” states NDO- Altus Sport director Gert Potgieter.

Given the positive impact that the stations have had in South African communities, Küpper maintains that SolarWorld has achieved its goal of using media to focus on education, social integration and environmental awareness.