Sri Lanka's Safe Bottle Lamp Project won the World Challenge 09 competition. The Sri Lankan initiative produces inexpensive lamps from recycled glass as a solution to burn risks in developing countries.
Burns caused by makeshift kerosene lamps is a common problem in parts of the country, where a fifth of the population has no access to electricity. These accidents often cause severe pain, scarring and sometimes even death. To prevent these injuries Dr Wijaya Godakumbura, a surgeon designed a simple lamp using recycled glass, which can be easily mass produced at a low cost. As the winner, the Safe Bottle Lamp Project also received a US$20,000 prize grant.
Speaking on the competition, Paul Gibbs, Head of Programmes, BBC World News said, "Over the last five years, the unique projects featured in World Challenge have continued to amaze and inspire BBC World News viewers."
Commenting on the award, Dr Godakumbura said that this win is really a win for the country more than for the project, because the organisers tagged the 12 projects with the respective country names giving them a ‘country identity' before the voting commenced and the ‘Safe Bottle Lamp Project' was labeled as ‘A Bright idea - Sri Lanka'. He added that their next task is to design 50,000 ‘Sudeepa' safe lamps with the prize money and give them out free to the needy.