As we approach the end of our Light Up the Amazon 2021 deadline, we wanted to tell you why it is a great occasion to donate to Light Up the World. Whether you have donated to us in the past or you are deciding to give for the first time, now is a great opportunity to watch your dollars effectively become a life-changing impact, literally overnight, for hundreds of children and families in the deep Peruvian Amazon, where no electricity grid will be available for a long time.
Next you can read the top 3 reasons why this month is an unbeatable time to donate to Light Up the World and support our Light Up the Amazon Campaign.
#1 Our projects in the Peruvian Amazon are as viable as ever
There’s one big reason why these communities remain so underserved.
Working in the Amazon is very hard and expensive.
To work there, our team ventured deep into Amazon, not knowing if there were going to be boats or fuel to carry over the six tons of equipment that they packed, thousands of kilometres away from Lima.
Once they arrived at the communities, they faced all kinds of logistical challenges every day. From uncertainty about getting food and water to mistrust from communities or not getting the help that had been agreed upon with local leaders.
The remoteness, combined with the lack of institutions and services, deters government programs, NGOs and private services, which find it too challenging or too expensive to provide these communities with the tools that would help them develop and improve their livelihoods.
Some important current partnerships will make these projects as viable as they have ever been.
Through our current partnerships with the youth development programs from Biotalent and Career Launcher, we can count on young Canadian talent to support us with logistics and implementation, reducing our project costs considerably.
In addition, the communities now trust us and they are eager to support us with the logistical work to make these life-changing projects. And, with their help, this time, coordination, transport, labour, food and water would be easier and better.
#2 Making the most remote populations in Latin America feel connected and cared for
Everything changed once we completed the projects, the three communities where we completed installations are incredibly pleased with Light Up the World. They told us about their general distrust from development programs, and the neglect they have faced historically and throughout their lives.
As the community leader Ramiro, told us in our last blog post, installing a solar system in their community is a symbol of hope and connection.
Access to energy its a great first step to foster connection and care with the Amazonian communities because it will enable them to use the electrical tools that their neighboring villages and towns use to improve such as telephones, radios, tvs, internet, blenders, fridges… with access to electricity our beneficiaries feel that they have opened a door into the modern world.
#3 Opening the doors for hundreds of children to the boom of the digital era
The global pandemic deeply affected the world as we knew it, but on the other hand, it accelerated the development of many technologies where we can all work, learn, and connect without having to leave our homes… or huts.
For the native communities in the Amazon, gaining access to energy is the first step to entering the world of an infinity of tools to improve their access to information, education, and even financial inclusion, with all the latest digital apps and programs for money transfer and remote employment.
As a response to Covid-19, the Peruvian government bought over a million tablets to be provided to children living in disadvantaged communities but overlooked the fact that many communities still lack a sustainable access to electricity.
If we bring them access to energy today, we would be supporting the generation of children that could not participate in education in the covid times to have the opportunity to have a modern education.
There has never been a better opportunity for us to serve the remote communities in the Amazon with life-changing access to electricity. Now, I would like to invite you to donate and to share this Canadian initiative to your friends and family so we can all become part of powering the opportunity of hundreds of children in the Amazon.
Click here to donate or sponsor a school in the Amazon
Thank you Jennifer, Patrick, Bill, Diana, Rob, David, Stephany, Kasia and Lynne for being our first donors you commitment inspire us to keep working to keep improving lives in Peru.
