At 4:00 a.m., while much of Makhiseng, a village in Mokhotlong, is still asleep and darkness cloaks the surrounding mountains, two girls set out for school.

For Reekelitsoe Moseli, a Grade 11 learner at St Martins High School in Mahala Mathaba, and her fellow learner Tsobotsi Selialia, arriving at school before sunrise has become part of their pursuit of a better education.

The two girls walk for about an hour from Makhiseng to reach the school. Their destination is a school that, since being connected to solar power in October 2025, has become a place where learning can continue long after daylight fades.

The contrast is striking: the girls leave a community without electricity and walk through the darkness to reach a school where solar power has transformed the learning environment.

For Reekelitsoe, the change is already evident in her academic performance.

“Because I am now in Grade 11, I have to work hard so that my marks qualify me for university next year and hopefully help me get a scholarship. We come very early and leave late, and that has significantly improved my marks because we can now see.”

Her words capture one of the most immediate effects of electricity at the school: more time to learn.

Before the school was connected, opportunities for early-morning and evening study were limited by daylight. Now, learners can arrive earlier, remain at school after normal hours, and make use of the additional time to study.

For the school’s Principal, Manthati Khotlisi, the transformation is evident not only in learners’ routines but also in their academic experience.

St Martins has 170 pupils, 46 boys and 124 girls. Since the school was connected to electricity, Ms Khotlisi says there has been an improvement in learners’ performance and greater flexibility in how the school manages its time.

“Now our pupils are able to come early for morning study and stay beyond school hours for afternoon study because there is light.”

The impact extends beyond the classroom. Access to electricity has enabled the school to make greater use of digital resources and the internet, giving learners and teachers access to information, educational materials and learning opportunities that were previously unavailable.

“There are many things we could not do or use before. We are now able to conduct experiments online. Our teachers can now use their laptops, which has made their work much easier.”

For learners, this means the classroom is no longer confined to what can be accessed during daylight hours or to what is contained in a textbook. Internet access allows them to explore information, conduct research and engage with learning resources beyond the school itself.

But perhaps the most powerful change is the simplest: the school now has light when it needs it.

For Reekelitsoe and Tsobotsi, that light has made the long journey from Makhiseng worthwhile.

Their decision to arrive at school as early as 4:00 a.m. reflects the determination of young people prepared to go to extraordinary lengths to pursue their education.

Their journey also highlights an important reality. While St Martins now has electricity, the community from which the girls travel still lacks it.

The contrast between the two places illustrates what access to energy can mean for education. At one end of their journey is a community still waiting for electricity. At the other is a school where solar energy has extended the hours available for learning.

The impact therefore goes beyond simply switching on lights. It makes it possible to study before the school day begins and after it ends. It enables teachers and learners to use digital resources. It makes internet-based learning and experiments possible. And it creates an environment in which the school can offer more opportunities for its learners.

But as the benefits of solar energy become part of everyday life at St Martins, the school is also ends.

For Principal Khotlisi, sustainability and system maintenance are important considerations. The school is already the benefits continue for years to come.

As part of the installation, the contractor trained school members to maintain the system, giving them the basic knowledge needed to help manage the infrastructure.

The school also has an additional source of technical support nearby. One of its former students has since graduated from Lerotholi Polytechnic as an electrical engineer and has offered to to the school on maintenance and technical matters when needed.

The school is also exploring practical ways to generate maintenance.

According to Ms Khotlisi, the school allows members of the surrounding community to charge their mobile phones and other electrical devices for a small fee. The income generated will contribute towards the future maintenance of the solar system.

It is a small but important example of how the school is beginning to think beyond the initial installation and towards local ownership and sustainability of the infrastructure.

The experience of St Martins shows why access to clean, reliable energy is closely connected to education and opportunity.

A solar connection may begin with infrastructure, but its impact is ultimately measured by what people can do with that infrastructure.

At St Martins, it means learners can arrive at school before sunrise and study. It means teachers can extend learning beyond the traditional school day. It means learners can access the internet and conduct experiments. It means students can continue reading and revising after sunset.

And for Reekelitsoe, it means seeing a difference in her marks.

Her journey from Makhiseng to St Martins reminds us that access to energy can shape something as fundamental as how much time a young person has to learn.

The transformation at St Martins High School forms part of the broader impact of the Renewable Lesotho: Access to Affordable and Renewable Energy (RL: AARE) Project in Lesotho, funded by the European Union, UNDP and the Irish Government. UNDP Lesotho implements the project in collaboration with the Ministry of Energy and Mining through the Department of Energy.

For the learners at St Martins, solar energy is no longer an abstract development statistic. They experience it every day in the extra hours they must study, the technology they can now use, and the opportunities they have to learn beyond daylight hours.

At 4:00 a.m., Reekelitsoe and Tsobotsi begin their journey from Makhiseng.

They walk through the darkness to reach a school where the lights are already on.

And under that light, they study.

When a school is energised, the opportunity to learn no longer has to end at sunset.