By YOSHIKATSU NAKAJIMA/ Staff Writer
October 8, 2019 at 08:00 JST
More than 1 billion people around the world live in regions with no power supply.
According to Panasonic Corp., the fact that when the sun goes down, residents in those regions have no light to study or work by is crippling their ability to improve their lives.
Aiming to help, Panasonic started a campaign in October to send 6,000 solar-powered lanterns to such areas and the campaign will continue through January 2020.
Under it, solar lamps will be delivered to regions without electricity in Africa and Asia to help increase local school enrollment ratios and income levels.
According to Panasonic representatives, 0.1 percent of the company's sales of LED lamps and ceiling lights will be used to provide lanterns that can be recharged with solar power. The lanterns will be offered to people living without electricity in South Africa, Ethiopia and elsewhere.
Panasonic has donated more than 100,000 lanterns to educational institutes and households in India, Myanmar and other nations since 2013 as part of its efforts to contribute to society.
While Panasonic solely funded that project, the latest campaign is intended to expand the activity by inspiring consumers to purchase lighting equipment to subsidize the lanterns.
“We hope the program will provide an opportunity for consumers to become aware of the situations (of regions without electricity),” said a Panasonic representative.
Products covered by the campaign are available for purchase at Panasonic outlets and major electronics stores across Japan.
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