"In the evening, it is as bright here as it is in the city. One can even read a newspaper," says Kochkorbay Tokoev, the head of Shoro-Bashat village, standing at the intersection of two seemingly ordinary streets. But one of them, Anarbayev Street, has become famous throughout the district due to its LED street lighting.

Although it is now usual for locals to take a night walk, a few years ago, nightfall seemed to plunge Shoro-Bashat village into complete darkness. There was no street lighting in the village of nearly 6,000 residents.

In addition to inconvenience, the risks of road accidents have been increased as the village is right on the Bishkek-Osh highway, which is always busy.

"UNDP helped to install LED street lighting for us on the village’s longest street, which is 1.2 km long. It has changed life in the village and made the road safer. People now feel the care from the municipality. When we saw how beneficial it is, we installed similar lighting in the whole village. Our experience has been replicated in other neighbouring villages, and now there is street lightning everywhere," says the head of the village, Tokoev.

Using LED lighting has several advantages: they contain no hazardous substances, are not susceptible to power surges, are resistant to mechanical damage and vibration, provide instantaneous switching to full light output, and can also stably operate at low ambient temperatures. In addition, the project has contributed to improvements in the village's infrastructure and has also ensured a reduction in local government energy costs.

"It made our nights lighter and more convenient. All my customers are local residents and they come to my small shop anytime. So, it is much more convenient with lighting to run the business later in the evening", – says a local shop assistant.

The issue of good street lighting is, first and foremost, a safety issue for people walking and driving on the streets. When it's dark, the risk of an accident or a simple slip and bump increases considerably, but properly designed and installed street lighting can solve this problem in the community. Besides, people, including kids, can safely walk home when it is late.

"Now children can play late outside in summer, and aksakals walk to the mosque early morning in light streets. They just turn on the switch on their way to evening namaz, and turn it off on their way back from the morning prayer," concluded Kochkorbay Tokoev, the head of the Shoro-Bashat village.