Light up the world

I've been enmeshed in a job search since CNN let me go in December.  One of the organizations I've been talking to work to relieve poverty in poor countries, and thinking about moving from the for-profit world I've been a part of for 5+ years back over into the not-for-profit side has me thinking about how technology can help people.  I came across two projects in the last day that are working in that direction.

The first one is the Light Up the World Foundation, which is experimenting with light into the homes of poor rural people.  The project uses clusters of white LEDs powered by pedal generators; 30 minutes on a pedal generator (think of an exercise bike) can charge a battery to power light in a house for four hours.  The goal is to provide the light so children can read and study in the evening.  [From SlashDot].

The SlashDot thread also points to the Engineers Without Borders group.  (From their web site, they appear to be only based in Canada at this point.)

(Postscript: I didn't get the job, but the ideas are still worth thinking about.)