One bright spark

"As a surgeon for many years I was witnessing these horrible injuries," says Dr Wijaya Godakumbura, winner of World Challenge 2009. "One day in 1992, a woman of 22 years got admitted to my ward with severe burns from bottle lamps." She died a day later.

It was this experience in a hospital in Sri Lanka, 17 years ago, that the doctor says helped spark his bright idea - the Safe Bottle Lamp Foundation.

Burns caused by makeshift kerosene lamps are a common problem in parts of Sri Lanka, where a fifth of the population has no access to electricity. These accidents often cause severe pain, scarring and sometimes even death. According to the WHO (World Health Organisation), over 300,000 people die from accidental burns from kerosene lamps around the world every year.

"I must do something," Dr Godakumbura recalls thinking.

The bright idea

And true to his profession, the doctor came up with a solution - not a new medical cure for the accidents - but a means of prevention.

His idea was simple: to design and produce safe inexpensive lamps from recycled glass that help limit the burn risks of kerosene lamps. Previously in Sri Lanka, the only ones on offer were old lightbulbs, which could easily break and fall over, spreading fire.

Setting up a production line for the lamps with their simple shape cost less than US $300. Now, over 1500 of the doctor's safe lamps can be manufactured each day at a cost of less than US$0.40 per lamp.

So far, over 800,000 safe lamps have been delivered to people throughout Sri Lanka, free of charge.

A shining example

In December, Dr Wijaya Godakumbura was announced winner of the BBC World News World Challenge 09 series.

With the US$20,000 prize grant from Shell, Dr Godakumbura will be able to distribute 40,000 more safe lamps to households in his home country.

Two runner-up projects were also awarded US$10,000. These went to Danamon Go Green and BTTR Ventures.

Danamon Go Green - an Indonesian initiative - converts traditional market waste into organic compost that can then be distributed amongst local farmers.

BTTR Ventures, an American project, aims to transform one of the largest waste streams in America into a nutritious and valuable food product in demand with local consumers.

Champions of change

Speaking about the World Challenge series, Paul Gibbs, Head of Programmes at BBC World News:

"Over the last five years, the unique projects featured in World Challenge have continued to amaze and inspire BBC World News viewers. The competition’s ongoing success and popularity illustrates an unwavering interest globally in the field of sustainable development."

The future will tell if Dr Godakumbura's shining example will pave the way for many a bright spark in years to come.