A solar lighting initiative by PhoScope

#GivingTuesday is a week from today.

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November 24, 2020

Give Light on Giving Tuesday

Giving Tuesday is a week from today. This year, choose to Give Light.

Three months after the explosion in the port of Beirut, 250,000 people are still in the dark. Light for Lebanon provides solar-powered lights to help communities get back on their feet. We are donating portables for indoor and outdoor use, and installing flood-lights and street-lights so residents can safely walk, work, and play after sunset. Please donate and help us reach our goal of $100,000 and provide 3,000 lights for the residents of Beirut!

Introducing our new program partner for Light for Lebanon

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Sept. 3, 2020

  • portrait of Manal

We are very pleased to introduce Manal Kahale as our partner for our newest program Light for Lebanon.

Raised in Lebanon, Manal studied Landscape Architecture at the American University of Beirut and holds a master’s degree in Lighting Design from Parsons in NYC. She worked in the USA for four years before returning to Lebanon to try and bridge both worlds through lighting. However, her return to her home country was more difficult than anticipated with the unfolding economic crisis as well as the COVID-19 pandemic, and finally on the 4th of August 2020, the biggest non-nuclear explosion ever recorded. This catastrophe unlocked feelings of communal support triggered by the complete absence of any relief efforts on the part of the Lebanese government. As a result, Manal decided to use her knowledge and experience to partake in relief efforts both as an active citizen and a lighting designer.

We are thrilled by this partnership and by the opportunity to quickly and sustainably re-illuminate Beirut.

Universal Declaration of Human Rights

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June 25, 2020

In 1948, the UN General Assembly adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights to guarantee the fundamental rights of each and every person anywhere in the world. The declaration was forged in the context of decolonization and became the foundation for international human rights law.

Today, too many people have yet to achieve equal rights.

At PhoScope and Light Reach, we advocate for universal human rights.

Check out the full text on the UN website

Celebrating International Women’s Day with Women in Lighting!

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March 8, 2020

Light Reach celebrates international women’s day with Women in Lighting and its one-year anniversary this week!

As a women-led initiative and organization, we are thrilled to join WiL’s global network of women and truly honored to be featured in arc magazine’s latest WiL feature article in an interview by Sarah Cullen.

One of the Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations’ 2030 Agenda is to achieve gender equality. Light Reach offers a new avenue of social engagement for the lighting community to contribute to this agenda by fostering sustainability, resilience, and light equity: we expect that new WiL teams will soon be expanding Light Reach’s positive impact worldwide. 

Light Reach is a collective effort. Please contact us at info@lightreach.net to sponsor or partner on our next projects, volunteer on a team, or just connect.

A warm welcome to our new volunteer

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February 26, 2020

Elisa Rothenbühler started her career in International Development, specializing in social programs improving maternal and child health. She then discovered her passion for design, and received her Master’s in Lighting and Interior Design in 2017. Her unique combination of knowledge and experience will be a valuable asset to Light Reach, and we are thrilled to have her on board!

Soon: a global fundraiser at WeWork

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September 30, 2019

WeWork and Light Reach will come together in October to kickstart an annual fundraiser in six global locations: New York and San Francisco in the US, Tokyo in Japan, Mexico City in Mexico, Bengaluru in India and London in the UK. We look forward to this event, and we welcome the WeWork community’s generous support for our next project!

  • map showing event locations

Our first trip to Puerto Rico!

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September 14, 2018

  • photo of first visit to project partner enlace

Our team goes to Puerto Rico to meet with the Proyecto Enlace del Caño Martín Peña, our pilot project partners, and to review with them which of the Buena Vista Hato Rey community’s playgrounds is the best candidate for a pilot Recreo de Noche project (RDN1).

  • photo of first project site

We also visit the lighting retail store Impec and meet with the owners to discuss the project and establish a supply chain for the RDN program.

  • visiting impec
  • our distributor impec

Seed funding for Recreo de Noche!

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July 15, 2018

We received seed funding for our first pilot project under the Recreo de Noche program in Puerto Rico! Thank you to Designers Lighting Forum of New York (DLFNY) and Illuminating Engineering Society (IESNYC)!

logo for designers lighting forum NY
logo for illuminating engineering society

Days are short in the tropics, and PhoScope is launching Recreo de Noche in Puerto Rico to rapidly deploy solar lighting in community playgrounds for use after sunset. This program will serve the immediate recreational and social needs of many Puerto Ricans who are deprived of electrical power.

  • Recreo de Noche

Recreo de Noche is a replicable model for the procurement of a kit of solar lighting products for community groups who will distribute and install them in collaboration with teams of volunteers. The volunteers will moderate public discussions and hold participatory workshops on light and lighting.

  • diagram of our solar lighting kits