Light for Limol
Update: As of May 18, 2017, we've raised $2065! That's enough for 4 water rollers and 86 solar lanterns for Limol!
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Life in Limol, a small fishing village in southern Papua New Guinea, has its beauties and its challenges. Limol is a hospitable community with hard-working and kind people. Life, however, can be very challenging, such that basic necessities such as clean water, food, and health supplies require long treks and heavy loads for Ende people, who face daily dangers and health problems as a result.
Two simple and sustainable tools can lighten up these daily hardships: handheld solar lanterns and push-able water rollers.
Right now, families in Limol still use traditional lighting (tree-bark) to move around and work in the evenings and at night. Tree-bark has been used by the Ende community for centuries, but it has its disadvantages. First, it goes out quickly, necessitating frequent trips back to a fire to light up. Second, it's not bright or safe enough to do many indoor activities, such as weaving mats or having conversation. Some families have flashlights (torches), but the nearest market to buy batteries is a two-week walk away (and requires money, which the villagers don't have).
Families in Limol have long discarded traditional water-carrying devices, such as bamboo poles and palm leaf baskets for pots, buckets, and jerry cans. While more efficient, these water vessels can weigh up to 40 pounds and are often carried on the head - causing permanent neck and back damage. Women walk up to 2 miles 2-3 times a day to get enough water for their family.
Solar lanterns and water rollers solve both of these problems. Solar lanterns are a sustainable way to light up the home or go gathering food at night. Water rollers, think of a large barrel pushed like a wheelbarrow, allow women to collect up to 90L of water in one trip and transfer the weight of the water to the ground, instead of on their head and backs.
I have brought both these tools to Limol with me in 2015 and 2016 - they were effective and shared among the community. This year, I would like to bring two more water rollers ($300 each, special price from Hippo Rollers) and forty solar lanterns ($10 each, special price from Luci) so that every house in the village will have a light. (This is especially important because this year, each house will also get copies of the first three Ende books!)
To raise awareness for this cause, I am dedicating my first 100-mile century bike ride to Light for Limol. With your support, I can make it to $1000 and the finish line! For just $10, one mile of my century and one bright, smiling face in Limol will be thanks to you. I will be posting regular training videos here and on Facebook so you can follow along with my progress, whether or not you're able to donate right now. All funds will go directly to Limol!
Please click below to donate! Remember that:
1 mile is the distance that a child must walk to fetch water.
5km is the distance a woman must walk to gather food.
10km is the distance a man must carry his child to get medicine.
These buttons direct to a personal PayPal.me page set up exclusively for Light for Limol. If you would like to donate a different amount, simply change the amount in the form. If you don't use PayPal, you can also use Venmo (@katelynnlindsey). Thank you for your support.