(Aug. 9, 2013 - by Erica Simone and Ralph Kurtenbach) In a popular fictional work by C.S. Lewis, a lamppost above a wintery scene serves as a meeting place for the characters, Lucy Pevensie and Mr. Tumnus. Readers of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe are thus transported to the legendary Narnia, a land of fauns, giants, witches and a lion named Aslan. So, too, a lamppost may someday open new horizons just by offering people in the developing world a place to charge their cell phones and other electronic items.

In contrast to Lewis' portrayal of a snowy rendezvous point for Lucy and Mr. Tumnus, sunshine figures prominently into the planning and designs of a solar-powered charging station that also lights the path.

The HCJB Global Technology Center (TC) in Elkhart, Ind., recently issued a challenge for designs and prototypes of such an apparatus, inviting the participation of engineering departments from several colleges.

The mission's ministry partners around the world, by erecting the dual-purpose posts in strategic locations, could demonstrate Christian concern for people's needs and thus manifest the love of Jesus in a practical way in the developing world.

With a scarcity of landlines in remote communities in many parts of the world, mobile devices offer villagers a way to communicate. For instance, although 25 million people in South Africa live below the poverty line, more than 75 percent of the youth (age 15 and up) in low-income groups own mobile phones, according to research commissioned by infoDev, a global partnership program within the World Bank Group.

Charlie Jacobson, director of engineering and development at the TC, has viewed the designs and seen the prototypes offered by engineering students from Calvin College in Michigan, Cedarville University in Ohio, Grove City College in Pennsylvania, John Brown University in Arkansas and Seattle Pacific University in Washington.
 

Engineering interns tweak the lamppost charger.

After an Internet video conference with the students, Jacobson said, "They gave excellent presentations and gave us something good to build on for future refinement and deployment to the field."
 
Calvin College students Wisdom Aiyelabowo from Nigeria and Yoofi Otabil from Ghana later delivered their team's lamppost prototype to the TC. The students handed off the lamppost to Harold Shira, a volunteer staff engineer who retired from Hewlett Packard/Agilent Technologies.

Harold Shira

Shira, who has already helped supervise interns who designed a bicycle generator for an African partner, helped direct this summer's interns in Elkhart. As part of their summer work they evaluated the Calvin College students' proposal along with the designs and prototypes of the other teams.

"Our purpose is to expose engineering students to real world opportunities within the context of missions," said Jacobson. "Technically gifted people can contribute to God's kingdom work."

One of the center's goals is to use technological advances to facilitate the spread of the gospel to those with limited access and mobilize Christians to share with others the good news of eternal life through Jesus Christ.

Sources: HCJB Global, finweek.com