Photo courtesy of One Meralco Foundation

Provincial News

600 families in El Nido receive solar-powered lamps

By Angelene Low

November 24, 2021

The One Million Lights (OML) Philippines gifted solar-powered lamps to 600 families from three barangays in El Nido, Palawan on November 17 to 20, 2021 through the ">“Light up El Nido” project.

“Each lamp, charged by sunlight during the day, could light up a home for 12 hours during the night, allowing school children to comfortably study during the night,” on the social media post of One Meralco Foundation.

The non-profit organization led by youths distributed compact lamps that are charged by sunlight and could last for 12 hours in 11 sitios across Barangays Bucana, Bebeladan, and Teneguiban in El Nido.

Photo courtesy of One Meralco Foundation

The project was a collaboration between One Million Lights Philippines, Meralco Employees Fund for Charity Inc. (MEFCI), and the Municipal Government of El Nido in aims to make electricity more accessible in areas without it and assist low-income families.

The lamps that were distributed also have head straps that can serve as a hands-free tool for fishermen.

Photo courtesy of One Meralco Foundation

The OML Philippines was founded by three high school students “with the idea of bringing solar technology to communities that were untouched by the modern world.” After lighting up a barangay in Catanduanes, over 13,000 households of 33 provinces have been eased with lack of electricity problem.

The organization also received recognition from Late President Benigno Aquino in 2012 for “choosing to light up the lives of the less fortunate rather than being insensitive to the darkness that surrounds them.”