People need light for daily activities, but in some places in the world, access to reliable power is a problem, and hurricanes and earthquakes can make the matter worse.
Andrea Sreshta and Anna Stork understand how important light is to people in need. After the 2010 earthquake in Haiti, Sreshta and Stork, then graduate students in architecture and design at Columbia University, wanted to do something to help. “We wanted to create something, a basic necessity and we focused in on lighting, ” says Sreshta.
As a school assignment, Sreshta and Stork designed a lighting product that was light-weight, portable and wireless, something that might help improve the safety and living conditions of Haitians. The result was the LuminAID light—an inflatable(可充气的)plastic, waterproof rectangle light that can be recharged with solar power. What was only a school project for Stork and Sreshta turned into a more serious undertaking when friends began sending the lights to those in need. “We made this in our kitchens and we built the first 50 originals by hand,” says Stork.
In their final year of architecture school, Sreshta and Stork filed a patent for the portable lamp, and shortly after graduating, the two traveled to India and conducted field tests on their original. Stork says visiting villages without stable access to electricity was really meaningful to them. “It helped us understand the houses and the conditions that these people were living in. And what was so interesting is one of the villages that we’ve visited. The house was made out of really thick cement, so even in the daytime; it was completely dark inside the house. So we saw real need for portable lighting,” Stork says.
They admit that when they started their business LuminAID in 2011, they didn’t know much about disaster relief and humanitarian aid. “We knew we had a product that could potentially make a difference in people’s lives after disasters like the earthquake in Haiti or even in places where people lack stable electricity,” says Sreshta. “We have been fortunate enough to work with partners like non-government organizations, humanitarian groups and disaster relief organizations which distribute our lights to people in need. ”
The company also sells the LuminAID light to customers through their Give Light, Get Light program. And for each purchase by an individual, the program sends a light to someone in need.
【小题1】For what purpose did Sreshta and Stork travel to India?| A．To try out their light. |
| B．To give away their light. |
| C．To work with some organizations. |
| D．To help people in disaster-struck areas. |
| A．They have helped a lot of people in need. |
| B．They began to know much about disaster relief. |
| C．They have made much money out of LuminAID. |
| D．They get a lot of help from many organizations. |
| A．From 2010 Haiti earthquake. |
| B．From their teacher’s requirement. |
| C．From what they learned in university. |
| D．From their experiences during earthquakes. |
| A．They can’t be bought by individuals. |
| B．They can be used with convenience. |
| C．A patent of such a product hasn’t been applied. |
| D．They were all made in their kitchens and by hand. |
