A Liter of Light: Sunlight of Ingenuity

There's a short video documentary going viral on Facebook..well at least, among Facebook users in the Philippines. It's called the Liter of Light (Isang Litrong Liwanag). The title is a bit vague, but after watching the video, not only did I see with clarity; a hole (pun intended) new brightness beamed through the dark matter of my brain, illuminating my perspective of how simple ideas always have that potential for greatness.

A solar bottle, equivalent to 50 watts, illuminates houses for the poor.

Created, produced and directed by a collective of directors and creatives who call their shop The Jungle Gym, The Liter of Light documents how one poor Filipino man, known as 'Solar Demi' (Mang Demi Solar), created a solution to the lack of lighting in his slum neighbourhood in Sitio Maligaya in San Vicente, San Pedro, Laguna (Philippines). Using only simple materials, he put his idea into action and succeeded in brightening up more than 600 dark homes with one solar bottle installed in each roof. Watch the video:

Sometimes, we think money and a privileged life is the only way to reach our goals. We stick it out longer, going with the flow, waiting for the world to present us with an opportunity. Most of us probably get beaten up by the journey for a few years before we figure out the right path. And maybe some of us just gets stuck in a rut, finding it hard to break and make changes.

It is not for us to do the waiting. It is the world is waiting on us. Like Solar Demi, we should not let obstacles deter us from setting forth and seeking solutions by making best use of whatever resources you have now. I would guess that Demi is no rocket scientist or middle-class educated citizen, but his common sense, practicality and execution not only resulted in bringing lighting relief to his whole community; Solar Demi actually brought new 'value' into the world -- making him, extra-ordinary. As for the rest of us who only 'maintain' value -- recycling our skills at the job factory thinking success will eventually be spat out to us...we haven't achieved much, but we should be grateful when we do realise it because that's when we will HAVE to start achieving...

...because you know the other option is a life of mediocrity.