The 'charge' of the light brigade

Youth is not wasted on them.

Teenagers Tricia Peralta and Mark Lozano are spearheading a light brigade that is “charging” several of the country’s poorest barangays. To date, some 15 million Filipinos have no access to electricity.

They have charged these barangays, beginning with Dugui Too in Catanduanes, with the fervor of their idealism  and with solar-powered lamps. These lamps, which cost P1,500 each, are able to illuminate a home for over five hours after a five-hour exposure to sunlight. They have replaced kerosene lamps, which cause skin burns and household fires.

President Aquino recently honored Tricia, 18, and Mark, 17, with the “Spirit of EDSA” award for their illuminating work.

Among the responses I received to my feature on Tricia and Mark last week (as well as on Tricia’s essay) came from Nonoy Catura, head coordinator of the Social & Human Development Ministry, St. Paul of the Cross Parish, SSS Village, Marikina City.

He writes: “It is not enough to say that Tricia and Mark should serve as an inspiration for others to reach out and help our poor and needy brethren, for they surely are and rightly should be. More importantly, it surfaces a basic truth that most of us will go through life with nary a claim to have ever changed the world, least of all, the lives of the people around us or the communities where they live. We are, all through our lives, so engulfed in and with ourselves that we fail to realize that there must be some higher and noble purpose for which we were created. 

“While Tricia and Mark might have realized theirs  putting that ‘charge’ to their Light Brigade  at the prime of their youth, surely at any stage of our lives we too can search and find that which will make our lives truly more relevant and meaningful.”   

This is the story of Mark, a high school senior, and the founder and country head of One Million Lights - Philippines:

One does not have to wait until one is older in order to make a difference.

It can be done. NOW.

Mark with parents Boots and Freddie Lozano.

My story began not with the proverbial “bang” but with a slow and rumbling yearning to make a difference in the lives of the poor, and make it happen. It was a long journey to get to the point where I am now, when I am doing something worthwhile with One Million Lights, but it was certainly worth the wait. One Million Lights now defines a big part of my life. At present, it gives me direction and purpose.

I credit my involvement in the organization to a lot of circumstances, but mainly to my family and the exposure in helping others that my parents and my school PAREF Southridge gave me.

I am the youngest of four boys with a 10-year gap separating me from the one that came before me; all of them being high achievers with multiple citations and awards. Growing up in this environment conditioned me to go the extra mile and do a bit more than what I think I can do.

As a student in PAREF Southridge, I worked hard to maintain an honors status and made an effort to be active in extra-curricular activities. Despite all the activities that helped me hone my individual skills, something big was still missing in my life.        Buried deep in my subconscious was that little voice telling me that I needed to do more, not for myself and my family, but for others, and by that I mean those who are truly the less fortunate.

I attended the Global Young Leaders Conference (GYLC) in Washington, D.C. back in 2010 and saw that so many people in my age group (ranging from 16 to 18 years of age), were doing “unbelievable” things to help the less fortunate. It was mind-blowing! Some led efforts that enhanced rural education in their own countries while others in more developed ones led initiatives that benefited people in less developed nations. This made me ask the question, “Why can’t I do the same?”

After GYLC, Tricia (Peralta) and I toyed around with the idea of lighting up a village, among other things. Within a week, we both independently came to the decision that we wanted to do something more for others. We searched the Internet for organizations and through the help of my friend Sierra Fan, from GYLC in Palo Alto, we found One Million Lights. After a series of e-mails and Skype calls, they agreed to let us do a project in the Philippines using their name. In that same week, Tricia found a barangay desperately in need of help through her relatives. We then touched base with people from Catanduanes who could help us implement the project in Barangay Dugui Too, one of the poorest in the Philippines.

It was really hard getting started. For one, we were young and lacked credibility, which is just reasonable to expect because we had no track record, much more pull through a project as ambitious as this. Some of the first organizations we approached for help turned us down and, after a while, we sort of got used to rejection, in one form or another.

My parents have always told me that if God wants something done, nothing can stop it. We had that faith. We eventually delivered with our first project of 250 lights. This was followed by a 300-light distribution in Cagayan de Oro. Our next projects for 2012 are already in the pipeline, 2,950 lights to be distributed throughout various barangays in Oriental Mindoro, Rizal, Catanduanes, Eastern Samar, Kalinga, Apayao, Ifugao, Mountain Province and Cebu.

Solar lamps being recharged on a roof. Photo by Lance Katigbak

My dream for the organization is that I want it to continue to grow and become an avenue for the youth to utilize and hone their talents to help society. I want our example to serve as an inspiration and springboard for others to start their own initiatives and expand the capabilities of our society in helping others. Personally, I want to become an economist and a social entrepreneur so I can contribute in a meaningful way to the development of our country.

One Million Lights has set me down this path and I can’t be any happier. The fulfillment that one gets from bringing and seeing the joy in the eyes of others surpasses any other achievement. For all of this and for believing in us “kids” and our abilities to make things happen, I have to thank my parents, Boots and Freddie Lozano and also my brothers, Mario, Paulo and Nick. I also have to thank Anna Sidana, founder of One Million Lights and the rest of the team in Palo Alto for trusting us with such a big endeavor and of course, our team at One Million Lights - Philippines.

(For more information, you may e-mail [email protected].)

(You may e-mail me at [email protected].)