In an e-mail to Jim Conrad the other day, I was telling him about an
organization I have just discovered that is providing LED light to rural areas
in third world nations through small solar collectors for just a small amount
of investment on their part. I saw something about it on "Good Morning America"
recently and the investment is about $50/installation. I know that is a lot to
these folks, but this organization is helping people get this without the
personal investment. I said to Jim:
"I was thinking of the electrical situation in 28 de Junio* when I ran across a
site on the internet for "Light Up the World Foundation." Their purpose: Light
Up The World Foundation (LUTW) is the first humanitarian organization to
utilize renewable energy and solid-state lighting technologies to bring
affordable, safe, healthy, efficient, and environmentally responsible
illumination to people who do not have access to power for adequate lighting.
LUTW remains the world’s leader in this endeavour: globally active and setting
standards in the field. They have a project in Chihuahua through the Marist
Brothers who work with the Tarahumara. It was supposed to be complete in 2004.
Their site: "http://www.lightuptheworld.org/about.htm
Does anybody know anything about or have any experience with Light Up the World
Foundation? I thought it was a neato keen idea.
*For those of you who may not have been reading Jim's newsletter, 28 de Junio
is the small community he was living in in Chiapas until recently. They rather
brazenly steal their electricity from a neighboring town via illegal wires.
When the wires go down, they have no electricity and, of course, the power
company won't come out and fix the problem. I know this wouldn't solve their
whole problem (like electricity to make things run), but it might solve their
lighting problem.
For a more enlightened community,
Louise
