Hey, USC students, Akon has a homework assignment for you: create a viral social media campaign to heighten awareness for energy poverty in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Akon approached the college kids this month alongside ONE org, which will make it their next social media project, to hear pitches for the #PowerProject Campaign Lab.

This effort ties in with the singer’s latest initiative “Akon Lighting Africa” that plans to bring power to 1 million African homes by the end of this year.

Born in St. Louie with roots in Senegal, Akon knows the value of electricity for a community.  Read his comments below.

“It’s hard to imagine living without basic electricity, but that’s the reality for 600 million people in Africa. Imagine giving birth or having an operation in a dark hospital with only a flashlight and no other equipment. Want to get a vaccine? Forget it, there are no refrigerators to keep them cold. Pretty much everything you and I take for granted cannot function without power–schools,hospitals, factories, farms, and businesses.”

But the singer/songwriter can’t do it alone. Hence, the open call for any and all USC students to submit proposals for ONE’s campaign dubbed The Power Project. In June, ONE will release #PowerProject, a tool to send letters to local senators about the project’s significance and steps on how to bring energy access to 50 million people living in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Guess, we take for granted how easy it is to flip a light switch…