August 28, 2020
Three weeks ago on August 4, 2020, the largest non-nuclear explosion in history tore through Beirut, destroying homes, businesses and entire neighborhoods in this beautiful metropolis that was once called the Paris of the Middle East. The blast killed at least 218 people, injured 6,000 and left 300,000 homeless. An already shaky power grid sustained significant damage plunging much of the city into darkness after sunset.
This disaster unfolded on top of an existing economic crisis and the Covid-19 pandemic, and ongoing protests against decades of corruption. The silver lining lies in Lebanon’s creative, entrepreneurial citizens and their can-do spirit, as they mobilize to clean up and rebuild in place of their government.
Lebanese architectural lighting designer and activist Manal Kahale contacted Light Reach to assist her in bringing solar-powered lighting to the damaged areas. Our existing replicable and scalable model is readily adaptable to quickly bring some illumination to the darkened streets without having to wait for grid restoration or construction. In this effort we launched our newest program, Light for Lebanon.
It has been three weeks and citizens have been busy clearing the rubble, but reconstruction will require a large influx of funding, equipment and materials. In the meantime too many are still living in the dark. Please DONATE to help quickly bring back the light to Beirut.
