An initiative that started 50 years ago in India in a bid to empower rural, illiterate women has now spread to ninety-three countries around the world. The ‘Barefoot’ Solar engineers of Sierra Leone, supported by the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), and funded by the Global Environment Facility (GEF), found themselves in the spotlight during an official visit to Sierra Leone by Amina J. Mohammed, the United Nations Deputy Secretary-General. Mohammed’s visit, at the end of 2020, helped shine a light on the project that has been equipping rural women with the means to connect their communities to solar energy since 2010.