Salamat kaayo, daku kaayo ug tabang ang inyong nahatag (Thank you so much, what you gave to us is of great help),” was the common sentiment of residents of Sitio Calbasaan, Minglanilla town in southern Cebu.
A team of teachers from Sacred Heart School – Ateneo de Cebu revisited Calbasaan last January 9 to monitor the Liter of Light Devices (LLD) that were distributed to around 50 households in October 2015.
The Liter of Light, Isang Litrong Liwanag, is an improvised solar device made from an empty plastic bottle with a 55-watt solar bulb that refracts sunlight.
The teachers also donated last month 10 boxes of children’s books and 261 “bags of love” to the Calbasaan Elementary School.
Sitio Calbasaan is located 16 kilometers from the main highway.
The people’s main sources of income are farming, selling charcoal or wood fuel, barbecue stick-making and other small enterprises.
The situation of the people in the community is characterized by rural poverty evidenced not only by low income but distance from the urban area as well as the lack of access to basic necessities that are available in the city.
Based on the findings of the monitoring team, the devices have been able to enhance the lives of the people in Calbasaan.
Naturally, people’s gathering or interaction would be limited in the absence of light.
The devices have been very helpful in allowing them to gather as a family or even as a bigger community. Because they can spend more time bonding together, family members are more confident to talk to each other. They did not worry as much with staying out a little bit later because they didn’t have to spend for more kerosene.
Commercial electricity was made available in Sitio Calbasaan only in December last year, but most people could not afford the services of the Visayan Electric Company (Veco).
In the Philippines, My Shelter Foundation introduced the improvised solar lamps. In school year 2014-2015, grade 5 pupils with the help of their parents produced the LLDs as their product performance task in Science.
Bringing light to the marginalized sector would hopefully allow the people to see the brighter side of life. /PR