original article

By Jonas Reyes
Published: May 17, 2013

NEW FLASHLIGHTS – Aetas pose along with representatives from Energizer Philippines and One Million Lights Philippines after getting new Energizer solar-powered LED lights during an outreach program on Thursday. The program between the Energizer Philippines and One Million Lights Philippines aims to provide off-the-grid indigenous communities access to clean lighting by giving 300 solar-powered LED lights. (Jonas Reyes)

OLONGAPO CITY – In a collaborated effort, Energizer Philippines and One Million Lights (OML) Philippines recently distributed 300 solar-powered LED flashlights to the indigenous communities of Zambales.

According to Energizer Philippines brand manager Joan Mendoza, “When we began this project with OML, we really aimed at touching as many lives as we can through our safe, sustainable and eco-friendly lighting.”

She added, “By providing these off-the-grid indigenous communities access to clean lighting, we would be able to alleviate the social burden they go through every day. We hope this will translate to better opportunities for the families here and aid their children with their education.”

“We are deeply grateful for the strong support from Energizer,” says Mark Lozano, country head of OML Phil. He added, “They provided us with clean and efficient solar-powered lights which offered much needed aid to our beneficiaries.”

“Energizer has enabled us to fulfill our goal to make a difference in society through an affordable, safe and environmentally sustainable manner. We look forward to spreading more ‘positive energy’ among Filipinos for years to come,” he added.

With the help of local civic group Social Action Center of Zambales, the Energizer team and the OML group donated these solar-powered flashlights to five areas in Zambales, namely: Sta Rita in Olongapo; Tralala in Olongapo; San Felipe Town; Mapalad; and the Town of Botolan.

According to Mendoza, these solar-powered LED flashlights have the capacity to provide more than three hours of light after five hours of charging under direct sunlight.

Through the donation, the company estimates that some 2,000 off-the-grid individuals will benefit from these flashlights. The company has already distributed similar lights to communities in Kalinga, Apayao, Ifugao, Mountain Province, Catanduanes, Mindoro, Eastern Samar, and Rizal.

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“Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.”  Nelson Mandela

May 2013 – James Olivas of Belmont, California, a junior at Bellarmine College Preparatory in San Jose, CA, is passionate about education. He has been inspired by the work of non-profit organizations furthering educational opportunities of students around the world, and chose to become a Global Ambassador for One Million Lights. In August 2013, James will head to the Philippines to distribute 100 Great White Lights to an un-electrified community and school.

Miguel Mondia teachers with the NVC volunteers

In recent years, James admired the work of Negrense Volunteers for Change Foundation (NVC), a non-profit organization that built classrooms in his mother’s province in the Philippines. Inspired, James and his friends collected books to give to the students.  They soon realized that without access to electricity at home, students in certain barrios were unable to read and study well using only kerosene lanterns. As a young adult passionate about giving back to the community, James is fundraising for solar LED lights he will personally distribute to a community in the Sitio Bais, Barangay Yubo, La Carlota city and the Miguel S. Mondia Elementary School. 

Great White Light: Solar-charged 1000mAh battery powering 12 LEDs.

With solar powered LED lights, students can have additional productive hours in the evening to use for their studies. Families will have clean and safe lighting for household tasks and livelihood generation.

Support James’ project by donating $30 to provide one Great White Light for the community of La Carlota!

The post Global Ambassador James inspired to light up community in Philippines this fall appeared first on One Million Lights.

Subira Shaw
InStyle.com

If you love shopping and doing good for others, InStyle magazine has a collection of items from companies that give to charity every time you buy from them. Here are some of the items that do you and others good.

Figs Ties, $55 – $75;Wearfigs.com

Figs is an neckwear company (ties, bowties) that serves a global purpose through their “Threads for Threads” program. For every tie sold, FIGS gives a school uniform to a child in need of an education. They are currently partnered with 105 schools worldwide. Figs products are hand sewn. They have ties and bowties available, in a range of colors and are priced between $55 and $75. On the uniform donation side, the company partners globally with local weavers and tailors to make uniforms for their school communities, so they are able to provide jobs to the adults in the community as well.

Bel Kazan Necklaces, $48;Shopgadogado.com

Another company that donates school uniforms one-for-one is Bel Kazan. These necklaces are fun for spring and summer, and the uniforms go to a Balinese child in need.

Baby Teresa Organic Cotton Rompers, $29.95 – $34.95;Baby-teresa.com

Baby Teresa sells a line of adorable 100% organic cotton baby clothing and accessories. For each romper sold, they donate a romper to a baby in need. These baby clothes and accessories are soft and make a superb baby shower gift. Since 2009, the company has made donations in over 20 countries. The rompers comes in three colors: the Jimmy (neutral stripe), the Ruby (pink spots) and Son (blue spots on white) – all named after children the founders have met on donation adventures.

Everything Happy Gift Sets ,$50 – $80,
Everything Happy Pillows & Blankies $28- $149; Everythinghappy.com

Everything Happy does children’s products like pillows, blankies and plush toys. For every Happy product purchased, one is given to a child in a hospital, orphanage or Ronald McDonald House Charity. Each Happy product arrives with a “giving tag” attached that includes a unique registration number on it. Each customer can register their product on the Everything Happy website and choose where they would like to donate their second item. The philosophy is one for one (except for the pillows, which are the exception as they are too heavy to ship, if a pillow is purchased, blankie is donated).

Soapbox Soaps, $4.99;Soapboxsoaps.com

SoapBox Soaps donates one bar of unscented soap to a child in need for every bar purchased. They call it a “bar of hope.” In two years, they have donated across 4 continents, and have provided soap to homeless shelters, women shelters and nursing homes here in America. Soapbox soaps are ethical and environmentally friendly: Cruelty free, Gluten free, Made in America, Packaged with 100% recycled fibers, and Vegan. They are made of all natural Ingredients. Soaps are available in a variety of scents like eucalyptus, cinnamon, lavender, orange, spearmint.

One Million Lights BOGO Light,$39; Onemillionlights.org

One Million Lights’ mission is to improve the daily lives of children and adults by providing clean and healthy lighting. Their goal is to distribute one million solar lights to replace dangerous and polluting kerosene lamps. Powered by solar energy, the BoGo Light is a great solution for these families in need. For every flashlight purchased, one is donated worldwide to a community in need.

One World Futbol Project Soccer Balls,$39.50;Oneworldfutbol.com

Soccer, known in most of the world as “football,” is the world’s most popular sport. One World Futbol Project strives to make an impact on children around the world with the One World Futbol – a virtually-indestructible ball that never goes flat and never needs a pump. For every Futbol you purchase, a second ball is donated to disadvantaged communities such as refugee camps, war zones, disaster areas and inner cities. World-renowned entertainer Sting provided the support needed to get the company running in its early stages and thus, the name of the ball is based on Sting’s song “One World (Not Three).”

Out Of Print Clothing T-Shirts, $28and up; Outofprintclothing.com

Out of Print celebrates the world’s great stories through graphic tees for men, women and children. Their t-shirts feature iconic and often out of print book covers, and we think they’re smart and chic. Each product is treated to feel soft and worn like a well-read book. The company acknowledges that many people throughout the world don’t have access to books, so for each product sold, one book is donated to a community in need through their partner Books For Africa.

Smile Squared Toothbrushes,$5.95;Smilesquared.com

We buy toothbrushes all the time, without giving it a second thought but Smile Squared is a company that does. They donate a toothbrush to a child in need for every one purchased. But that’s not all. The handles are made of biodegradable bamboo, not plastic, and the box is recyclable. This company helps to raise awareness about the environmental impact of the basic products we buy.

The post Today Show: 9 products that give back to charity appeared first on One Million Lights.

June 23, 2013: 3:00-8:00pm, Addison-Penzak Jewish Community Center, 14855 Oka Road, Los Gatos, CA.

Come visit us at the music festival. You can learn about the One Million Lights organization and participate in an interactive experience with solar panels. Read more about the festival here.

View Larger Map

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Vasanth Kommu and family, packing their solar lights for India

During the winter of 2012, I visited India, and one of the goals I had set for myself was to volunteer in India. When I learnt of One Million Lights’ program, it immediately struck chord with me as a program that would be very useful in countries like India, where there are electricity shortages. Before, I narrate my various experiences in India, I thought I should give some background about myself.

My name is Vasanth Kommu. I reside in California and am currently in 8th grade. I have had a very interesting journey so far in my life. I was diagnosed with a brain tumor when I was 5 years old. I went through an intense treatment at Lucille Packard Children’s Hospital. That is where I learnt the meaning of volunteering and dedication to fellow humans. I used to have wonderful people visit me during my treatment, spend time with me, play with me, bring beautiful dogs and gifts. There were some children in our neighborhood who would visit me and made sure that I was always engaged and smiling, all through my treatment. I had people from all religions praying for me.

I am thankful to those volunteers, to the doctors, friends and to my family for always being there. It is very difficult to reciprocate in-kind, however, my philosophy is that if I help people in need, it is all good.

I have been imbibed with these morals since childhood, since my family would get involved in charitable causes like donating money for housing poor people in the backward villages of India, and to various other charities like Red Cross. Every time we went to India, we made it a point to visit some places like an Ashram for orphans, or projects like housing, hospitals and schools in backward areas. I also used to collect money by selling lemonade and chocolates, etc. with my sister and friends. My collections would then be given towards any project that helped people.

When my mother told me that she heard about One Million Lights organization from a friend of hers, and gave me information about it, I thought that this is a fantastic cause! I applied for volunteering, and was fortunate that Sadaf Minapara, who is in charge of Global Ambassador program, accepted my application. I also sincerely thank her for her support and guidance after accepting my application.

I took all my earnings so far, and got it quadrupled by getting matching amounts from my parents, and my dad’s employer! That was a good start. Next activity was to select the recipients of the award. Since we always visited the Sai Ashram in Hyderabad, where the orphaned kids were brought up in a home like atmosphere, I asked my uncle if that would be one of the appropriate places for donating solar lamps to the kids. He mentioned that the kids wake up at 5 and sleep at 10. Some older kids have to wake up longer to finish studying. Frequent power cuts were an issue. Another issue the kids faced was subtle but equally important. The kids shared a couple of large rooms. If one kid had to study for an exam (kids went to different schools), and others had to sleep, keeping the lights on in the room disturbed the sleep of other kids. Therefore, having an individual solar lamp for their studies was a very good idea and solved the problem with lamps and wires that kids tripped upon. Therefore, I slated 40 lamps to this institution.

Another place was a remote village near Nellore in India. I targeted 2 areas for the remaining lamps : one was the hospital – just imagine how people managed in night there with limited lighting and during power cuts, the services were very impacted. Next was the housing project where one room houses were built for the most indigent people in the area, who have no shelter from the weather. They use Kerosene lamps for lighting at night.

At Ground in India

We landed in Bangalore where we went to my uncles flat. It was good to see very well maintained flats and grounds within. When we went up to the terrace, the view was generally very good. However, one side of the complex, we saw what appeared to be like a slum. This is where many laborers used to live after working all day. Seeing this, I discussed the possibility to diverting some lamps to people living here, since they have no electricity at all. They liked my idea and we thought of donating about 20 lamps to the people living there, especially women and older kids. We went down and approached the slums.

People there were very untrusting, however, who can deny free and useful items. They accepted the lamps – just they did not allow us to take any photos, which we had to comply with. I felt happy that I was able to do some good immediately. We had also gone to India for some other personal work, with which I got busy for a week. Then we went to Hyderabad and the Sai Ashram there. I was over whelmed with the response that I got at the ashram – it is always so, the kids are like my brothers and treat us with a lot of warmth and friendliness.

After prayers to god, my uncle and father spoke. Then I spoke and thanked the kids for giving me such a friendly welcome. I talked about One Million Lights Organization, and its goals. After several questions and answers, where I explained how the lamps worked, we stared the lamp distribution. I wanted the generous lady who setup the Ashram, and the Ashram co-ordinators and teachers to come and distribute the lamps. I handed the lamps to them, and they distributed these. I could see curiosity in many faces, however, since they were very disciplined, they didn’t take the package apart. Some of the older kids were teaching younger kids about the lamps. I have included the photos from the distribution below.
We were unable to go to backward villages near Nellore (hospitals and housing project) due to health reasons. However, I sent the lamps to the person in charge of the housing and hospital projects for distribution. They have promised to send photos and the local people’s comments to us, which I will share at a later time.

The post Vasanth’s Story Lighting Up Lives appeared first on One Million Lights.

As reported by Saji G.:
Let me tell you the story of Suni – a woman whose compassion and dedication to the cause palliative care is an encouragement and a humbling experience. She is one of the recipients of the solar light, for her children.

Suni is a mother of three school going children and the sole caregiver to husband, Christudas, who is diagnosed to have Motor Neuron Disease and Pancreatitis. He was fish monger, the sole breadwinner in his family.
When we started seeing him in 2007, Christudas could walk with the help of a walker. Over the past 4 years his condition deteriorated and now completely bed bound and needs assistance to perform activities of daily living. Due to his illness, Christudas is unable to work and this adds to their financial burdens. They have huge debts-bank loans and individual borrowings taken to meet daily needs. They have debts of 5lakhs (INR). Suni and her children are being physically and mentally harassed by the money lenders. They live on the mercies of their neighbours and friends.

They live in a house with broken doors and windows. Suni tearfully says she lives in constant fear about the safety of her children (two girls and one boy). There is a statutory power cut every day for 1 hour and that too when the children are about to sit in for studying at home. With the light from One Million Lights, they feel great! There is no one to help her with care-giving and household chores, and she doesn’t have steady job.

Despite her miseries, Suni finds time to help other patients and their family members who are in similar sufferings. She is one of our most dedicated and enthusiastic volunteers. She assists our medical team in our homecare program in her community and assists in providing nursing care to the patients.

With the support of kindhearted people like yourself, they are recipients of our Food kit program- a program where food provisions are made available for the patient and family every month. Members associated with Pallium India raised about 20,000/-(INR), but this amounts to only a small portion of her debts. Also, the children are receiving financial support for their education.

Suni was delighted to receive the lamp for her children. Your kind gesture shall remain in their hearts as a ray of hope that life will become brighter for them someday.

These lights were donated by employees of Intel in Santa Clara, CA. Thank you for your generous sponsorhip.

The post India – Pallium Palliative Care appeared first on One Million Lights.

With special coordination and thanks to Pastor Noel and the other local Baptist ministers, the lanterns were able to reach four schools in need.

Students from Terrier Rouge secondary school.

The Terrier Rouge Secondary School often has classes that run well into the evening when natural sunlight has left many students and teachers in the dark. With 8 classrooms Pastor Mark must keep classroom curricula limited during these times as students find it hard to learn and communicate with poor lighting and limited resources. A total of 25 lanterns were given to the school to help each classroom provide the adequate lighting needed to continue learning well into the night. Special thanks go out to Pastor Mark and the students listed here: Waston Georges, Yveneld Methelus, Ronei Ciervil, Jeempson Alonad, Geempson Saincy, Loulouse Jean, Junior Saint-Preux, and Pastor Mark.

The second school to receive 10 d.light S1 solar lanterns was the Danda Baptist School northeast of Terrier Rouge. This small school on the rural outskirts was principled by Pastor Elima and had enrollment of nearly 150 students.

The third school we visited was in the bay town of Phaeton, across the bay from Fort Liberty,and was principled by Pastor Cary. The primary school held only 4 classrooms and had over 150 students. During our demonstration, the students were in shock seeing the d.light S1 in action!

The final stop on our Haitian adventure was the small mountain village of Ouvray located to the south of Terrier Rouge. This school housed around 100 students and was principled by Pastor Ronald and Deacon De. The school received 5 solar lanterns and made a point to thank Students for Solar and One Million Lights for their generous contribution to their community.

Thanks to all those involved in the making these dreams of clean lighting in Haiti a reality, and special thanks goes out to Isely and Maggie Noel for all their help along the way.

Principal Pastor Elima, of Danda Baptist School, receives solar lights for the students.

A solar light lights up a blackboard in Haiti.

Pastor Cary demonstrates the solar lights to a class.

Students learn how to use their new solar lights.

The two principals of a small school, Pastor Ronald and Deacon De, welcome William Lee, in the mountain village of Ourvay, Haiti.

The post Students for Solar light up Haiti appeared first on One Million Lights.

WomenNow TV names Anna Sidana, founder of One Million Lights, to be Hero of the Month.

The post WomenNow TV chooses Sidana to be Hero of the Month appeared first on One Million Lights.

Published on Dec 11, 2012 -

Raffy Tanpho of One Million Lights Philippines accepts the TAYO Award 2012.

SEN Kiko Pangilinan, Founding Chair, TAYO
ASEC. Georgina Nava, Commissioner for Luzon, National Youth Commission
Raffy Tanpho, One Million Lights Philippines, TAYO Winner

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Join us. Light up a life today.
Project goal: 500 lights

The Shree Mangal Dvip School is located in Namo Buddha, a remote region outside of Kathmandu, Nepal. There are approximately 500 students, from Nursery level up to Class 9, who study at this school. The entire community depends on kerosene for light, heating, cooking, as well as for reading and studying at night. Since the Shree Mangal Dvip school is located high up the mountains along the Kathmandu Valley, electricity is very limited. Families in Namo Buddha are without power nearly 80% of the time. Electricity is sporadic and inconsistent.
One Million Lights, a Bay Area non-profit, is dedicated to bringing solar lanterns to kerosene-dependent communities around the world.

 

Help students from
Cal High and
One Million Lights
raise funds for the
Shree Mangal Dvip
school in Nepal.

 

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