Ambassador Stories from the Field

Alternative Spring Break- Lives, Perspectives and Reflections

Alternative Spring Break- Lives, Perspectives and Reflections

March 2014 In March, One Million Lights partnered with NGO Long Way Home, Santa Cruz Hillel and Oregon Hillel for an Alternative Spring Break Program to distribute 150 solar lights to school children, teachers, and construction workers for a sustainable school that is being built  in San Juan Comalapa, Guatemala.   Here are some blog [Read more…]


Arusha, Tanzania Distribution

Arusha, Tanzania Distribution

March 15, 2017 by: Ann Teberg These precious solar lights bring light to these families and a smile to their faces. Traveling with Education students from Whitworth University, we were able to deliver 250 lights to families helping them replace dangerous kerosene lamps and candles in their homes. We distributed Sunking PICO lights to families [Read more…]


Bangladesh

Bangladesh

Let there be light — Agami and One Million Lights’ initiative to distribute solar lanterns amongst poor students in Bangladesh. Solar lights will go to all the students in Agami’s school projects in Bangladesh. The organization has partnered with One Million Lights (onemillionlights.org ) in implementing this rather ambitious project. We are calling it ‘Let There Be Light’ in the spirit of the famous unfinished movie of the same name by the film maker Zahir Raihan who was killed during the 1971 liberation war.

65% of Bangladesh’s population does not have access to modern power supply and, thus, their entire livelihood at night is still dependent upon old fashion Kupees or lanterns…


Bringing Solar Lights to East Cameroon

Bringing Solar Lights to East Cameroon

August 2017 By: Tae-Hyung Kim The east region of Cameroon is perhaps its most underdeveloped, least industrialized and ignored part of the country. The geography of the east region is by and large forest with all kinds of trees of all kinds of size and would surely be described as a ‘jungle’. The majority of [Read more…]


Cambodia

Cambodia

Solar lights in Cambodia — One Million Lights volunteer Paul Saunders brought 10 of our solar lights to the children at Cambodia Children’s Fund. Here’s a bit of information about their education programs: “Many of our CCF students arrive having had little or no education, and are often unable to read and write in their own language. Others have received some learning through the public school system, but due to substandard materials and teacher-to-student ratios, have been unable to realize their full potential.

Our program is designed to reduce those deficits by offering dynamic academic content, accelerated learning opportunities and newfound promise and prospects…


Ghana

Ghana

Lighted Pathway to Success — Solar lights changing lives in Rural Ghana

Enthusiasm and light radiate from Peter Yobo as he talks about helping underprivileged youth reach their own unique potential. He feels that even people growing up in dire circumstances can be agents of positive change within their communities and around the world, but first, they need two things: assistance and exposure.

Peter and fellow native Ghanian, Pichon Duplon, co-founded a youth empowerment organization


Guacamaya’s School Rebuild

Guacamaya's School Rebuild

February 2016 Last year Markie Cleaveland-Yeakel and her organization, La Mancha, Inc. traveled to Guatemala to repair a school and distribute 18 solar lights to students who needed them. By: Markie Cleaveland-Yeakel We went to the town of Guacamayas in the state of Santa Rosa, the Municipality of Cuilapa.  Guacamayas is located off the paved road, [Read more…]


Haiti

Haiti

Healing Power of Hands, both small and large, in Haiti — Children use the Power of their Pennies to send Solar Lights to Haiti.

It all started with a terrible earthquake in Haiti. Elementary students and healthcare workers in Palo Alto, CA put their grief and sadness to work and have sent 20 solar lights to the people of Musseau, Haiti, with plans to send at least 80 more in March.

The students at Escondido Elementary donated their annual fundraiser, Penny Power, to One Million Lights so that they could send much needed


Howard Memorial School- Sierra Leone

Howard Memorial School- Sierra Leone

February 2, 2016 Tucker Childs, Professor of Linguistics from Portland State University, travelled to Sierra Leone this past winter break to study several languages.  Due to generous help from donors, he was able to fund, 180 Nokero N183 lights to distribute to school children during his trip.  Here is heart-warming story. By: Tucker Childs Well, the Nokero lights [Read more…]


Illuminating India

Illuminating India

By: Kirpa Wirk, February 2015 Kirpa Wirk of Santa Cruz, a senior at University of California Santa Cruz, has long been passionate about passing on knowledge. She was inspired by the work of non-profit organizations broadening educational horizons of students around the world, and pursued to become a Global Ambassador for One Million Lights. In [Read more…]