Panasonic Corp has launched the 100,000 Solar Lantern Project, a project to donate a total of 100,000 solar LED lanterns to people in regions of the world without electricity, by 2018, the 100th anniversary of the company’s founding.
As the first stage in this effort, Panasonic is donating 3,000 compact solar lights to NPOs and NGOs helping to solve social problems in Myanmar. A ceremony to mark this donation was held Friday at the Sedona Hotel Yangon in Yangon, Myanmar. Next month, Panasonic plans to donate an additional 5,000 compact solar lights to an NGO in India, along with 2,000 lights to a refugee camp in Africa.
Currently, there are about 1.32 billion people worldwide living without electricity, mainly in developing countries in Asia and Africa. Many homes in these regions use kerosene lamps for lighting, but these lamps pose the risk of fire and the smoke released by the lamps is also harmful to human health. Since kerosene lamps also do not provide sufficient light, they significantly restrict what people can do at night while creating considerable hazards for them. The lack of electric light in these regions means challenges in the areas of healthcare, education and the economy.
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