Shawn Hakim and Jacqueline Gallardo recently launched a campaign on Indiegogo to raise money for solar-charging LED lamps for people resident in off grid area deep in Dominican jungles.(All Photos Courtesy of Dominican Light Project)

Shawn Hakim and Jacqueline Gallardo recently launched a campaign on Indiegogo to raise money for solar-charging LED lamps for people resident in off grid area deep in Dominican jungles.

Today in the Dominican Republic, up to 8 million people live under the shadow of daily electricity blackouts while more than 1 million residents live off the grid.

Deep in the rural area, it takes a school boy more than 2.5 hours to travel to school per trip. This means that he leaves home and walks through the jungle in entire dark for 3 to 4 miles which followed by two buses transfers and more walk. This is exactly how Rafael Fernandez in El Choco spends his morning. Rafael does not get to go to a sport society or swimming class after school. On the contrary, he earns money by shining shoes or washing cars. It’s usually pass 9 in the evening when he arrives home. He told the foundation proudly that he lights up his road using the money he earned. On days with heavy fog he uses a torch made from old bread dipped with kerosene.

Rafael Fernandez, a Dominican boy who travels more than 5 hours for school and usually arrive at home after 9 in the evening.

As Kerosene-fueled lamps and torch generate health-damaging fume and smoke and sometimes cause fires. To  a campaign aims at bettering the lighting condition of Dominican homes. With US $5, a local resident’s home can be lit up with solar-charging LED lamp. And that school kids will no longer need to walk in the dark.

Although their ultimate goal is to raise as much as US $26 million to provide every family that are in need of a solar lantern, they break the goal into bitable chunks, starting with US $25,000 first.

Jacqueline Gallardo (left) and Shawn Hakim (right) dream big at raising US $26 million for every Dominican family that need better illuminaiton tools.

The campaign, called Dominican Light Project, was launched by Shawn Hakim and Jacqueline Gallardo on May 2, aiming at US $10,000 first. They have secured up to US $6,400 with the figure growing.