Day after day in Latin America, the sun dips below the horizon before a day’s worth of work is completed.  At 6:30 PM, total darkness sets in for many families across Panama.  Without electricity to see at night, it becomes a challenge to work, cook, and study for school.  Safety is a great risk for families without power.

For many reasons, hundreds of families in Panama live their lives without electricity.  Getting electricity on islands in Panama is very expensive and nearly impossible.  It is the same for the families who live off the main road.  The majority of the rural Panamanians make less than ten dollars per day; therefore they are unable to afford the high prices of electricity on side roads and islands.  School children are released from school at 5:00 PM.  While some children walk down the street to their home, others have a long 30-60 minute bus ride to get home. When the children arrive home, little light is left in the day to start their homework.  Some of the students use flashlights, others simply cannot complete their days’ worth of homework.

Photo courtesy Shelby Lewis

Safety is a great concern for those without electricity.  In Panama hides 122 species of snakes, with 18 of them being poisonous.  Scorpions and spiders are infamous for crawling in clothes and bed sheets during the day. Without a light, families are unable to see if there is a dangerous spider or scorpion in their bedding and clothing.  A simple task such as cooking becomes an impossible task when there is no light to see what is being cooked. For the families with limited light, change needs to happen fast. With the help of solar powered lanterns, there is a better chance for people to better their education and improve their safety. If nothing changes there is a greater chance that education will continue to go downhill for the children without electricity.  Safety will continue to be a huge issue if the families without electricity are not provided with light.

Seventeen year old Shelby Lewis started Light The Path as a way to purchase solar powered lanterns for families in Panama. It is her goal to buy 500 lanterns for families without electricity, who are in need of a source of light.  Light The Path is raising money through donations and by selling locally made Panamanian products, such as hand woven purses and other collectibles. By selling items made by Panamanians, Light The Path is helping families in more ways than one.  Purchasing handmade items from the Ngöbe Buglé Indigenous Tribe, Light The Path is able to support families in the indigenous tribe and supply them with lights. Light The Path has raised enough money already to supply 100 families with solar powered lanterns.  Light The Path plans to distribute the lanterns to several areas in Panama.  Isla Gobernadora, Isla San Cristobal, Farfan, Lagartero, and Hicaco are Light The Path’s first priorities when distributing the lanterns.  Isla San Cristobal and Isla Gobernadora are two islands completely without lights. Lighting their world with solar powered lanterns is a must.  The towns Farfan, Lagartero, and Hicaco are very close to Light The Path’s location.  Light The Path has begun to work with many of the people from those towns and realizes what great need it is for these people to have a solar lantern at night.

Photo courtesy Shelby Lewis

The solar powered lanterns being distributed by Light The Path, throughout Panama, are top quality.  These lanterns are made by MPOWERD, who specialize in making the perfect lantern for families in need of a light - without electricity.  The solar powered light “Luci” is designed to be used for multiple purposes.  Luci Lantern can be used for a diffused lantern, a task lamp, and a portable lamp.  Luci has a light weight of only 4 ounces and can be deflated when not in use.  This solar powered lantern lights up a fifteen square foot area, will hold a charge for up to twelve hours, and can be charged by placing the lantern in the sun for twelve hours. Because of Luci’s unique design, this solar powered lantern is water resistant and will not corrode.

Light The Path has extended their hands and partnered with Generation Next to help purchase solar powered lanterns to take to Kenya. Light The Path and Generation Next have set a goal to raise enough funds to buy 300 lanterns to take to Kenya in June of 2014. This will help children in Kenya increase the amount of time they can work on their school work. Lighting their night will help better improve their cooking, education, and safety.  Most importantly, this will help improve their life and give them better opportunities. Light The Path hopes to purchase lanterns to send to many other countries in the future.

Light The Path is always accepting volunteers to help raise money to purchase solar powered lanterns for families in need around the world.  If you or someone you know would like to help raise money or donate, contact Shelby Lewis at www.lightthepathpanama.com for more information.  By donating money to Light The Path, you are changing the lives of many and providing a safer home and a chance for a better education.  Thank you for Lighting The Path for many.

Shelby Lewis is a member of the Youth Travel Blogging Mentorship Program

All photos courtesy and copyright MPOWERD, except where noted