En-light a Girl Child Pilot phase report: Bihar

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PROJECT REPORT: “En-light a Girl Child” Project in
Begusarai & Saharsa districts, Bihar
Prepared for:
Eveready Industries Limited
SoulAce Consulting Pvt. Ltd.
NCR Office: 422 A, Tower B, Spaze I-Tech Park, Sohna Road, Gurgaon –122018
Kolkata Office [Registered Office]: P-166, Block G, 4th
Floor, New Alipore, Kolkata – 700053
Website: www.SoulAce.in, Email: enquiry@SoulAce.in, Phone No.- 0124-6465722

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TABLE OF CONTENTS
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
1. Project Details
1.1 Project Description
1.2 Project Activity: LED light distribution in schools
1.3 Project Outcomes
1.4 Project Monitoring
1.5 Project sustainability
2. En-light a Girl Child: Project Overview
3. Power Crisis in Rural India
4. Implementing agency
5. Support Agency & Product Partner
6. References

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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
A. Background
1. Power Crisis: An analysis of the electrification status of urban and rural areas in India reveals a
very dismal picture indeed.
 Around 43% of Rural Households in India depend on kerosene as the main source of lighting
which translates to 72 million households.
 6 states have more than 50% of the rural households using kerosene for lighting.
 Bihar and Uttar Pradesh top the list with 88% and 75% of kerosene dependent rural
communities respectively.
 Begusarai and Saharsa districts of Bihar are among one of the worst faring districts of Bihar in
terms of availability of a safe and clean source of lighting.
2. State of Girl Child in India:
The United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, India recently named India as
the most dangerous place in the world for a girl child. India is the most dangerous place in the
world to be a baby girl. Newly released data shows that an Indian girl child aged 1-5 years is 75% more
likely to die than an Indian boy, making this the worst gender differential in child mortality for any
country in the world.
 Child Sex Ratio (no. of females per 1000 males in the age group of 0 – 6 yrs) is alarmingly low at
914 in 2011
 More than 50% of girls fail to enroll in school; those that do are likely to drop out by the age of
12.
 Dropout rates increase alarmingly in class III to V, its 58% for girls.

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 53% of girls in the age group of 5 to 9 years are illiterate.
 Amongst married women in India today, 75% were under age at the time of their marriages
 Average enrolment rate of girls aged 14-18 is only 36.77%.
 61.5% of girls drop out of school before completing class XII.
 1 out of every 6 girls does not live to see her 15th birthday.
 India accounts for the termination of some 10 million female fetuses over the past 20 years.
 Of the 12 million girls born in India, 3 million do not see their 15th
birthday and 1 million do not
see their 1st
birthday.
 Every sixth girl child's death is due to gender discrimination.
 1 out of 4 girls is sexually abused before the age of 4.
 Female mortality exceeds male mortality in 224 out of 402 districts in India.
 More than 100 million girl children between the ages of 5 and 17 are engaged in child labour
 Death rate among girls below the age of 4 years is higher than that of boys. Even if she escapes
infanticide or foeticide, a girl child is less likely to receive immunization, nutrition or medical
treatment compared to a male child.
 There are approximately 2 million child commercial sex workers between the age of 5 and 15
years and about 3.3 million between 15 and 18 years; forming 40% of the total population of
commercial sex workers in India; 71% of them are illiterate; 500,000 children are forced into
this trade every year.

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B. Project Description
SoulAce has implemented En-light a Girl Child project in power impoverished Begusaria and Saharsa
districts of Bihar. Eveready is the support agency and product partner in the initiative. “En-Light a Girl
Child" is a unique initiative towards addressing the issues, one of perennial darkness in the rural villages
and the other of Girl child education through sponsoring LED Light to rural households with Girl children.
The project also aims at informing and educating the larger rural community about the different
government schemes available for the girl children and women and motivating them to avail the
facilities for larger benefit.
C. Project Achievements
 3003 girls from 13 schools in 2 districts of Bihar have the LED lights for studying at home after
sundown.
 Awareness generation on empowering the girl child and knowledge regarding existing
government schemes undertaken in 13 schools through pamphlets, group discussions and street
plays.
 The provision of LED Lights only to the girl child has sent out a strong message to the rural
families, schools and community, establishing the importance of girl child education.
Tabassum Parveen is the daughter of Md. Akram and lives in Sahebpur Kamal
village in Begusarai district. She is studying in 9th standard in Jauhari Lal High
School, Sahebpur Kamal. She stays with her parents, 6 sisters, 5 brothers and
grandparents. Her father is a rickshaw puller.
During a visit to her residence in the evening, the team found that Tabassum along
with majority of her school going siblings were studying using the LED light. Her
father said that he is not educated; they are very poor and wishes that his children
study and live a better life. They have one kerosene Light and 2 kerosene lit candles
in their house. Her mother said that the government provides support to the
students in terms of books, dress, cycle, grants etc. but availability of
electricity is a major problem.
Now, with the provision of LED light, the children study together in the
evening hours. Tabassum said that the LED light provides far bright light
than kerosene lamps and that all the siblings now sit together and study. The
encouragement and motivation to study has increased with the availability of LED light.

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 Creating a positive discrimination for the girl child has highlighted her right in the family, school
and the community at large as an individual whose needs are equally important.
 Periodic monitoring visits to the village households have revealed that owning their personal
LED Light has given girls the flexibility to study in their free time after sundown with greater
regularity.
 Further, the LED light is a personal asset of the girl child and she can control its use. This has
boosted the morale and achievement motivation of these girls.
 A few media personnel were formally invited to cover the events. In all places a lot of media
personnel representing different publications and channels, who got to know about the
intervention through their network, turned up as the relevance of the activity appealed to them.
They are well aware of the gravity of the power crisis and the issues concerning the girl child and
thus made it a point to write comprehensive reports highlighting the pivoting role that the
project plays in addressing the issues concerning the girl child to send the message to a large
readership.
 The social networking sites are being used for sharing the mission and activities of En-Light a
Girl Child and sensitizing a large number of people towards these issues in a short time. The
Facebook page, which opened in August, 2013 and in 3 months time, has been able to generate
nearly 7,000 likes which ensure regular engagement. Similarly the twitter page is abuzz with
tweets on current issues related to girl children and news of events in remote districts of UP and
Bihar. Celebrities like Konkona Sen Sharma acknowledged the significance of the projected and
showed their support to the mission by tweeting back their views on the social networking site
twitter. Events, activities, case studies, issues related to girl child education and media coverage
are regularly updated and shared on these sites.

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1. PROJECT DETAILS
1.1 Project Description
SoulAce has implemented the project in power impoverished Begusaria and Saharsa districts of Bihar.
3003 girl children studying in classes 6 - 10 and coming from 13 different schools were the recipients of
battery operated LED Lights. Eveready is the support agency and product partner in the initiative.
The reason for targeting girls studying in 6 - 10 grades was the fact that this is the age in which they can
communicate and influence the use of the lamps provided to them and also utilize the facility by
replacing the batteries on a monthly basis.
This is also the stage in girl children’s lives when they are more burdened with their domestic duties and
need the lighting resource to choose to study in their free time. The fact that their need to study at any
time in the evening or night is given importance acts as a great enabler. They can take decisions on
when they want to use it and how.
1.2 Project Activity: LED light distribution in Schools
In each of the schools, the distribution process commenced with an inauguration ceremony in the
school grounds where Eveready officials, SoulAce representatives, Ground Partner, which is a local

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NGO, the concerned schools Headmaster and senior teachers shared their views on girl child
empowerment and the importance of education girls in general.
The forum was used to highlight the objectives of En-light A Girl Child project, which are promoting girl
child education, providing a cheap and safe source of lighting, and providing information about existing
government schemes for girls.
Pamphlets on government schemes for girl children were distributed as well as street plays used as a
medium to communicate the same.
Demonstration of LED light operation & maintenance
by represetative of Ground Partner
Mr. Aditya Diddee, Eveready, Kolkata giving out
LED light

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This was followed by actual distribution of the LED Lights to a few grades. Rest of the distribution was
done in individual classes. A short demonstration on how to operate the lamp, change the batteries and
its upkeep and maintenance was given towards the end.
Special care was taken to inform the girls that the lamp is meant for their individual use and mainly for
the purpose of studying besides using it while moving out in the dark.
Girls with LED lights in the classroom after distribution
Street Play in school

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Battery operated LED Lights were distributed to girls studying in Grade 6-10 in 13 schools in Begusari
and Saharsa districts of Bihar. 1519 girls from 5 schools in Begusarai received the lights while 1484 girls
from 8 schools in Saharsa district were recipients of the lights. The distribution in Saharsa was done in
two phases. In all, 3003 girls from 13 schools across Begusarai and Saharsa benefitted from the
distribution.
The local press and other media personnel were invited to cover the event to spread the message to a
larger audience and sensitize people to issues related to girl child empowerment. The coverage was
done by Hindi newspapers and electronic media.
DISTRICT & SCHOOL WISE DISTRIBUTION
District
Date of
Event
Name of the School
No. of Girls
covered
Begusarai 19.09.13 Kanya Madhya Vidhyalaya, Kali Asthan 408
20.09.13 Rajkiyakrit Sarvodaya High School, Sahpur 212
30.10.13 Rajkiyakrit Madhya Vidhyalaya, Lakho 343
1.10.13 Rajkiyakrit Madhya Vidhyalaya, Bishanpur 253
1.10.13 JauhariLal High School, Sahebpur Kamal 303
Sub - Total Begusarai 1519
Saharsa 29.10.13 Rupmati Girls Middle School 356
29.10.13 Rupmati Girls High School 264
30.10.13 Adarsh Awasiya Middle School Education
Sangh
164
30.10.13 Anugrah Narayan Singh Smarak High
Madhyamik School
77
21.11.13 Middle School Chandaur, Chandaur 125
21.11.13 Middle School, Belha, Baijnathpur 80
22.11.13 Manohar High School, Baijnathpur 198
22.11.13 Middle School, Baijnathpur 220
Sub – Total Saharsa 1484
Total 3003

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1.3 Project Outcomes
1. 3003 girls from 13 schools in 2 districts of Bihar have the LED lights for studying at home after
sundown.

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2. Awareness generation on empowering the girl child and knowledge regarding existing government
schemes undertaken in 13 schools for the girl child through pamphlets and street plays.
3. The provision of LED Lights has sent out a strong message to the rural families, schools and
community, establishing the importance of girl child education. This shall go a long way in changing
the prevalent mindsets regarding educating the girls and challenging gender biases.
4. Benefitting girls see the lamp as a personal asset and realize that they have the choice to use it for
themselves. This has played a key role in sealing their right in the family, school and the community
at large as individuals whose needs are equally important and the fact that they can exercise this
right to fulfill their needs.
5. Burdened down with household chores and not finding an adequate source of lighting during their
free time, has resulted in the girls not being able to cope with their studies, especially as they move
to the higher grades. Girls are using the LED Lights to study on a regular basis now. Having their
personal LED Light has given them the flexibility to study in their free time after sundown which
would result in gradual improvement in academic performance.

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Varsha Kumari is the daughter of Banshi Chowdhury and
lives in Lakho village. She is studying is 7th
standard in
Rajkiyakrit Madhya Vidhyalaya, Lakho, Begusarai. Varsha
stays with her parents, 2 brothers and 3 sisters. Her father
is an auto rickshaw driver.
When the monitoring team visited her residence in the
evening, she was studying using the LED light. Varsha
thanked our team for providing with the LED light. She
said that earlier she used to study using the kerosene
lamp.
She said the kerosene lamps had low illumination; they had to be handled with lot of care as there were chances
of fire and breaking down of the glass. All these problems are now solved after she has started using the LED
light. She said that earlier the motivation to study using kerosene lamp was low but now not only she but her
brothers and sisters all sit together after sundown to study.
6. In spite of the fact that girls’ education in the region is riddled with multiple limiting factors, the
provision of personal LED Lights has proved to be a huge source of encouragement and has
intensified the achievement motivation of the benefitting girl children.
7. Since there was no lighting arrangement made exclusively for the girl child to study at home, the
LED lights have offered a more economic and sustainable alternative.
8. Toxic fumes and unburnt carbon from the kerosene lamps cause several respiratory illnesses and
the low illumination strains the eyes. Such lamps also cause countless fire catastrophes every year.
Now LED Lights are providing a safer and brighter source of lighting for the girls to study.
9. The girls are using the Light in the evening or night, when they need to go out. This has worked
towards increasing their safety.
10. The distribution of these LED lights to girl children is not only an activity as it has bigger implications.
The provision of this very basic amenity has a direct and measurable impact in terms of having
access to a clean and safe source of lighting in specific and uplifting the situation of the girl child at
large.
1.4 Project Monitoring
The Ground Partner is undertaking the household level monitoring in the villages. Monitoring visits were
made in the evening hours to see if the lights are being used by the recipient girls both in Begusarai &

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Saharsa districts. These visits were undertaken around a month after the distribution. Currently these
monitoring visits are being conducted for schools were distributions were done a month ago and shall
be continued periodically. The SoulAce team was present during the distribution of the battery LED
lights in the schools. Database of each beneficiary along with family details was generated.
1.5 Project Sustainability
The lights consume very little energy and the average recurring cost incurred in replacing the batteries is
not more than 1 rupee per day. Batteries are easily available even in the remotest villages. The product
is branded, hard-wearing and long-lasting. The project is effective and sustainable in terms of cost
effectiveness, ease of access and longevity.

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2. En-light a Girl Child: Project Overview
En-Light a Girl Child" is a unique initiative towards addressing the issues, one of perennial darkness in
the rural villages and the other of Girl child education through sponsoring LED Light to rural households
with Girl children.
"En-Light a Girl Child" aspires to reach out to regions
in the country with no or irregular electricity and
empower rural households with girl children with a
battery powered LED Light. The Light would be a
multipurpose tool for the girl and the family. The girl
could use it to study during the evening hours, which
would be a joyful experience to study under better
illumination and no harmful fumes. Women could
use it while cooking, and men in the family could avail the light to continue their business late.
"En-Light a Girl Child" would inform and educate the larger rural community about the different
government schemes available for the girl children and women and motivate them to avail the facilities
for larger benefit.
"En-Light a Girl Child" envisages working towards bringing light and happiness to the families, which
have been erstwhile in perennial darkness and better the state of Education and Healthcare for girls and
women in the communities
"En-Light a Girl Child" has been designed in such a way that the intervention in remote, rural areas is
low cost intensive and sustainable as the cost incurred per child is Rs. 400 which would include complete
cost of branded LED Light, transportation, awareness creation, distribution event and monitoring.
Batteries are available in the remotest of areas and a large rural population could avail the facility of
battery operated LED Lights. Thus, the potential is huge in terms of scalability too. From the
implementation point of view, execution is not time consuming and human resource requirements are
low.

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2.1 Mission
Empower 10,00,000 Girl Children in backward regions by providing LED Lights and creating awareness
about schemes for girl child
2.2 Objectives
1. To empower Girl children at school, family and societal level and establish the importance of girl
child education
2. To reach out to rural households having Girl Children and encourage them to study further by
gifting a battery powered LED Light
3. To try and mitigate the power crisis situation in villages and other poorly electrified regions by
illuminating houses, which were into perennial darkness due to lack of electricity
4. To generate awareness amongst the people with regards to girl child education, healthcare and
employment and spread awareness amongst the villagers about the different government
schemes available for the benefit of Girls and Women.
2.3 Implementation Process
1. Identification of relevant villages and households where there is no or irregular electricity
especially in states like Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Jharkhand, Orissa et cetera. Also slums in
major metro cities are included.
2. Distribution of free LED Lights with batteries to school going girl children through events
organized in schools
3. Awareness Generation in the villages on the following issues:
- Light provided: Its advantages, replacement of battery
- Creating Awareness of existing government schemes for girls
4. Monitoring on monthly basis on usage of lights by the children
5. Documentation of the project through creation of database of the beneficiaries, report writing,
photographs and success stories.

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2.4 Social Benefits
Social Impact Current Scenario After LED Lights supplied
Education Not sufficient light in the
house to study during
evening
Ideal time in the evening for
children to study under
bright LED Light
Health Kerosene lamps being used
whose fumes are a health
hazard
No issue of fumes
Women safety Security risk for girls going
out in the dark
Girls can carry the light
while going outside the
house and increases safety
Girl Child Promotion Girl Child Discrimination one
of the major social issues
prevalent in the backward
areas in India
As light will be given to only
girl child, it will promote the
importance of girl child in
the regions
Advantages of Eveready Battery LED Light
 They are 50% cost – effective than kerosene lamps and easy to use
 Illumination is far better as compared to kerosene lamps
 Initial cost 80% cheaper than solar lights
 They are more reliable in use. No technology issue or weather dependency
 Easy availability of batteries in every village in India
 Safe to use, no health hazards
 Branded product ensures quality and beneficiaries keenness towards the product

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3. Power Crisis in Rural India
The condition of rural India paints a dark picture considering the fact that a sizeable chunk of the rural
households in India have no access to electricity at all. Most of these people are dependent on the
(Source: Census 2011)

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55.3
43.2
1.0 0.5
92.7
6.5
0.6 0.3
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
45
50
55
60
65
70
75
80
85
90
95
Electricity Kerosene Other
Sources
No Light
PercentageofHouseholds
Households with Different Sources of Lighting
Percentage of Households with
Different Sources of Lighting in India
Rural
Urban
43%
57%
Percentage of Kerosene Lit
Rural Households in India
Percentage of Kerosene lit
Rural HH
% of HH using electricity &
other sources
traditional fuels of kerosene, wood, dung and crop residue and often use primitive and inefficient
technologies for lighting. Use of Kerosene and other conventional methods has an ill effect on health,
education and livelihood of the communities.
An analysis of the electrification status of urban
and rural areas reveals a very dismal picture
indeed. A majority of the rural population in India
depends on kerosene for domestic lighting as only
55 percent have access to electricity. According to
the census 2011, around 43 percent of rural
households depend on kerosene as a primary fuel
lighting which is roughly equal to 80 million
households. Additionally, electrified households in
rural areas also use kerosene as a standby fuel because of unreliable electricity supply.
Among the top 10 states with the highest percentage of kerosene dependent rural households, the
condition of Bihar is the poorest with 88 percent of the rural community relying on kerosene as the

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STATE WISE SUMMARY OF KEROSENE LIT RURAL HOUSEHOLDS IN INDIA
Sr.
No
States &UTs Total no. of
Households
Total no. of
Rural
Households
Percentage
of Rural
Households
No. of
Kerosene
Lit Rural
Households
Percentage of
Kerosene Lit
Rural
Households
India
1 Bihar 18940629 16926958 89.4 14963756 88.4
2 Uttar Pradesh 32924266 25475071 77.4 19111021 75.0
3 Assam 6367295 5374553 84.4 3782653 70.4
4 Jharkhand 6181607 4685965 75.8 3113279 66.4
5 Orissa 9661085 8144012 84.3 5113827 62.8
6 West Bengal 20067299 13717186 68.4 7927731 57.8
7 Meghalaya 538299 422197 78.43 193949 45.94
8 Madhya Pradesh 14967597 11122365 74.3 4546696 40.9
9 Rajasthan 12581303 9490363 75.4 3729431 39.3
10 Tripura 842781 607779 72.12 228953 37.67
11 Manipur 507152 335752 66.20 108164 32.22
12 Chhattisgarh 5622850 4384112 77.97 1235592 28.18
13 Mizoram 221077 104874 47.44 28159 26.85
14 Maharashtra 23830580 13016652 54.62 3446376 26.48
15 Arunachal Pradesh 261614 195723 74.81 46175 23.59
16 Nagaland 399965 284911 71.23 60106 21.10
17 Andaman & Nicobar 93376 59030 63.22 11393 19.30
18 Uttarakhand 1997068 1404845 70.35 204149 14.53
19 Gujarat 12181718 6765403 55.54 869255 12.85
20 Jammu & Kashmir 2015088 1497920 74.34 189124 12.63
21 Karnataka 13179911 7864196 59.67 965641 12.28
22 Haryana 4717954 2966053 62.87 335860 11.32
23 Andhra Pradesh 21024534 14246309 67.76 1450876 10.18
24 Sikkim 128131 92370 72.09 8075 8.74
25 Tamil Nadu 18493003 9563899 51.72 791493 8.28
26 Dadra & Nagar Haveli 73063 35408 48.46 2697 7.62
27 Kerela 7716370 4095674 53.08 304225 7.43
28 Pondicherry 301276 95133 31.58 3387 3.56
29 Goa 322813 124674 38.62 4287 3.44
30 Himachal Pradesh 1476581 1310538 88.75 38895 2.97
31 Punjab 5409699 3315632 61.29 96196 2.90
32 Chandigarh 235061 6785 2.89 162 2.39
33 Daman & Diu 60381 12750 21.12 185 1.45
34 NCT of Delhi 3340538 79115 2.37 1136 1.44

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88.4
75
70.4
66.4
62.8
57.8
45.94
40.9
39.3
37.67
0 20 40 60 80 100
Bihar
Uttar Pradesh
Assam
Jharkand
Orissa
West Bengal
Meghalaya
Madhya Pradesh
Rajasthan
Tripura
Top 10 States with Highest Percentage of Kerosene Lit
Rural Households
source of lighting. Uttar Pradesh is a close second with 75 percent of kerosene dependent rural
households. 6 states have more than 50 percent of the rural households using kerosene for lighting.
Approximately 54 percent of the country’s kerosene reserve is consumed in four states alone, Uttar
Pradesh, with 21 percent consumption, followed by Bihar with 15 percent consumption. West Bengal
and Orissa together consume 18 percent of the country’s kerosene reserves.
Kerosene is the sole source of lighting for about 89 percent of the rural households in Bihar.
There are millions of school-going children living in semi-rural and rural areas, who don’t have access to
a clean and safe light which can help them study after sundown. These children depend on kerosene
lamps which form soot and emit toxic fumes which cause health problems like irritation in the eyes,
severe respiratory illness, and are potentially dangerous as they can cause fire accidents and burn
injuries. Moreover the light from such lamps is not enough hence it puts a strain on the children’s eyes
too. Girl children suffer more as their male siblings get preference over them when it comes to sharing
the light. Kerosene being an expensive source of lighting is used frugally. As most girls are busy doing
their domestic duties during the day time there is no light to study once they get free in the evening or
late in the night.
Bihar, Uttar Pradesh & Assam have 88%, 75% & 70% of their rural households respectively

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DISTRICT WISE SUMMARY OF KEROSENE LIT RURAL HOUSEHOLDS IN BIHAR
Sr.
No
District Total Rural Households No. of Kerosene lighted
Rural Households
Percentage of Kerosene
Lit Rural Households
1 Madhepura 383792 365829 95.32
2 PashchimChamparan 635151 603151 94.96
3 Araria 529611 501133 94.62
4 Arwal 109546 103639 94.61
5 Katihar 563679 532056 94.39
6 PurbaChamparan 913167 857416 93.89
7 Nawada 313669 294090 93.76
8 Sheohar 143121 133282 93.13
9 Saharsa 339776 314109 92.45
10 Sitamarhi 696184 640822 92.05
11 Siwan 516701 473833 91.70
12 Jamui 283684 259579 91.50
13 Gaya 603194 551428 91.42
14 Purnia 576602 525815 91.19
15 Samastipur 822111 744281 90.53
16 Aurangabad 351828 318291 90.47
17 Vaishali 595165 538001 90.40
18 Bhojpur 357782 323095 90.30
19 Jehanabad 159632 143688 90.01
20 Supaul 420420 376667 89.59
21 Khagaria 312199 277783 88.98
22 Saran 585844 516239 88.12
23 Darbhanga 732270 642931 87.80
24 Madhubani 871575 764245 87.69
25 Sheikhpura 86465 74916 86.64
26 Begusarai 488062 422153 86.50
27 Muzaffarpur 859579 738509 85.92
28 Nalanda 411602 353477 85.88
29 Buxar 236453 202895 85.81
30 Kishanganj 304695 260263 85.42
31 Gopalganj 396391 334493 84.38
32 Banka 366656 305807 83.40
33 Rohtas 387316 311170 80.34
34 Kaimur (Bhabua) 235155 186478 79.30
35 Lakhisarai 140728 109313 77.68
36 Munger 193801 149504 77.14
37 Bhagalpur 458960 349845 76.23
38 Patna 544392 363530 66.78
Bihar 16926958 14963756 88.40

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It is notable that each district in Bihar has a sizeable rural population. 33 out of these 38 districts have,
on an average, more than 80 percent of their rural households dependent on kerosene as the primary
source of lighting.
Madhepura district has the highest percentage of kerosene dependent rural households at around 95
percent. The smallest percentage of kerosene dependent rural households is in Patna.
Begusarai & Saharsa Districts
Begusarai and Saharsa district of Bihar are among one of the worst faring districts of Bihar in terms of
availability of a safe and clean source of lighting. Out of the 488062 rural households in Begusarai, 86.5
percent use kerosene as a lighting source. This accounts for about 4.2 lakh rural households facing such
a crisis.
SUMMARY OF KEROSENE LIT RURAL HOUSEHOLDS IN
BEGUSAIRAI & SAHARSA
Sr.
No
District Total Rural
Households
No. of Kerosene lighted
Rural Households
Rural Households
1. Begusarai 488062 422153 86.50
2. Saharsa 339776 314109 92.45
65.00
70.00
75.00
80.00
85.00
90.00
95.00
100.00
Madhepura
Pashchim…
Araria
Arwal
Katihar
PurbaChamparan
Nawada
Sheohar
Saharsa
Sitamarhi
Siwan
Jamui
Gaya
Purnia
Samastipur
Aurangabad
Vaishali
Bhojpur
Jehanabad
Supaul
Khagaria
Saran
Darbhanga
Madhubani
Sheikhpura
Begusarai
Muzaffarpur
Nalanda
Buxar
Kishanganj
Gopalganj
Banka
Rohtas
Kaimur(Bhabua)
Lakhisarai
Munger
Bhagalpur
Patna
District Wise Percentage of Kerosene Lit Rural Households in
Bihar

23
86%
14%
Rural Households in Begusarai
District
% of Kerosene lit HH
% of HH using other sources of
lighting
92%
8%
Rural Households in Saharsa
District
% of Kerosene lit HH
% of HH using other sources of
lighting
The situation in Saharsa is even more desolate. Around 92 percent of rural households rely
almost entirely on kerosene for lighting. Girl children who are responsible for managing the
daily housework from cleaning to cooking find it extremely challenging to cope with their
studies as they move in to higher grades.
Munni Kumari lives in Batraha locality of Saharsa town in Bihar. She studies
in Grade 8 of Roopwati Kanya Mahavidyalaya, the only girl’s high school
located in the heart of Saharsa town. Her father is old and unemployed while
her mother passed away a few years back. She has three brothers who stay
under the same roof. The eldest brother, who runs a small cloth store, has
separated from the family owing to the fact that the cloth shop brings in
barely enough money to support him and his wife. Youngest of the 4 siblings,
Munni has to undertake the arduous responsibility of cooking, cleaning as
well as other domestic chores.
In Munni’s own words: “Main padhna chahati hoon par ghar ka
itna kaam karne ke baad samay nahi milta. Aur main thak bh
ijaat ihoon. Raat mein padhne baithti hoon to aksar bijli nahi
rahti. Bhaiya 9th
me padhta hai. Ek hi lalten hai. Usko milta hai
mujhe kam. Kerosene bahut mehnga hai.Kabhi kabhi mujhe lagta hai ki
main agar ghar mein nahi padhungi to phir itna sab kuch kaise samajh
paaongi . Aksar school nahi jaa paati hoon. Kisi ka dhyan meri padhai par nahi hai. Main bahut aage tak padhna
chahti hoon”
Waking up early in the morning, Munni cleans the utensils, sweeps the house, and cooks food. The school is a 20
minutes’ walk from her home. At the tender age of 15, she can fathom the general indifference that prevails in
her family towards her education.
The only time that they find to study is after sun set and kerosene lamps being expensive are
used sparingly. With the prevalent indifference towards the girl children in general and their
education in particular any effort to make a kerosene lamp available for studying in their free
time, takes a backseat.

24
4. Implementing Agency
SoulAce is the implementing organization for "En-Light a Girl Child". It is amongst the first professional
organization specializing in the field of Corporate Social Responsibility and Sustainability in India. It
assists companies in developing, implementing, and evaluating CSR and Sustainability programmes.
In the last 5 Years it has covered more than 16 states in India working in more than 60 districts for
several corporate, Private, Public and Multinationals on CSR Baseline cum Need Assessment Studies, 3rd
Party Evaluation & Impact Assessment of CSR projects, Monitoring, Documentation, Joint
Implementation, Reporting and Training on CSR. Few of SoulAce's clients include Tata Power, Aditya
Birla Group, Cadbury, Sodexo, Indian Oil, GAIL, FICCI, Self Employed Women’s Association, Smile
Foundation, RITES, Hands Carpets, MMTC, State Trading Corporation, Engineering Projects India Ltd. and
PEC Ltd. among others.

25
5. Support Agency and Product Partner
Eveready Industries India Limited is the product partner for "En-Light a Girl Child". It is one of the
most trusted brands for batteries and LED Lights. This ensures quality product and easy availability of
LED Light through the presence of large network of Eveready in the villages across the country. Eveready
has agreed to supply the LED Light at subsidized cost for this social initiative.
The brand Eveready has been present in India since 1905. Eveready has a portfolio comprising dry cell
batteries (carbon zinc batteries, rechargeable batteries and alkaline batteries), flashlights (torches), CFLs
(Compact Fluorescent Lamps) and packet tea. Eveready's strength is the result of a continuous and well-
orchestrated brand development strategy that maximizes the value from each consumer touch-point.
The unmatched consumer confidence is also reflected through the various accolades that the company
has got over the years.

26
6. References:
1. Houselisting and Housing Census Data Tables - District Level,
http://www.censusindia.gov.in/2011census/hlo/District_Tables/HLO_District_Tables.html
2. India: Source of lighting:
http://www.devinfolive.info/censusinfodashboard/website/index.php/pages/source_lightin
g/total/kerosene/IND
3. Statistics of Underprivileged Children in India
http://america.cry.org/site/know_us/cry_america_and_child_rights/statistics_underprivilege
d_chi.html
4. Situation of Girl Child in India
http://www.betifoundation.org/situation-of-girl-child-in-india
5. India deadliest place in world for girl child
http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2012-02-01/india/31012468_1_child-mortality-
infant-mortality-infant-deaths
6. CHILD Protection & Child Rights » Vulnerable Children » Children's Issues » Girl Child
http://www.childlineindia.org.in/girl-child-rights-protection.htm
7. Status of children in India
http://infochangeindia.org/agenda/child-rights-in-india/status-of-children-in-india.html

En-light a Girl Child Pilot phase report: Bihar

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En-light a Girl Child Pilot phase report: Bihar