Charity Initiatives
Friends of VLD Community
We contribute to programs and initiatives that boost well-being, economic growth as well as respond to the need of those who’s lives and health are profoundly effected by lighting. Let us know if your charity would like to participate reach out to community@vld.community
LightAware was founded to respond to the needs of those whose lives and health have been profoundly affected by the ban on incandescent lighting and the development of new forms of light.
Some people with pre-existing health issues find their conditions exacerbated: including migraine and light-sensitive skin conditions. Others with no previous health issues also experience problems under new forms of lighting. Some experience severe symptoms, including searing eye pain, debilitating headaches, skin burning and rashes, dizziness, fainting and vomiting.
For others, the symptoms are milder: anxiety, eczema, edginess or just a sensation of discomfort or ‘wrongness’ that is hard to locate. Senior medics are expressing deep concern about the affect of new lighting on human eyes, skin, circadian rhythm and nervous system. But there are many questions still unanswered.
How does artificial lighting affect human health and wellbeing?
How many people are adversely affected by new forms of lighting?
How does one type of light bulb cause different problems in different people?
Why are some people affected by some forms of light and not others?
LightAware believes these questions, and many more, urgently need addressing.
Light Reach is a large-scale, multi-program and global solar lighting initiative to scale-up social action and engagement in the field of lighting design and fight light poverty with rapidly deployable project models.
Based on Nathalie Rozot’s award-winning project and methodology developed for Haïti’s residents of Martissant and nonprofits Concepteurs Lumière Sans Frontières and Fokal, Light Reach provides a unique path to lighting activism and empowers all with lighting equality.
Each program has its own modular, scalable template that can be adapted to the specific needs of each project location and its resident community. Each template consists of a kit of solar-powered lights and workshops with the community members. Our volunteers work with each community to determine where to install the stationary lights, then lead the workshops where the participants learn about the science and art of light and lighting.