((PKG)) LUMINAID
((Banner: Let there be Light))
((Executive Producer: Marsha James))
((Camera: Kaveh Rezaei))
((Map: Washington, D.C.))
((Banner: Andrea Sreshta and Anna Stork are the inventors of Luminaid, a portable solar charged lighting system))
((Courtesy throughout: Luminaid))
((ANDREA SRESHTA, Co-founder, Luminaid))
I feel that light is important whether it's after a disaster, even if you are relying on an unstable electricity grid, because it helps people be more productive in their own daily lives and in the case of disasters, it helps them get back to normal.
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((ANDREA SRESHTA, Co-founder, Luminaid))
It was just after the 2010 earthquake in Haiti, and like everyone else, we are watching the stories about people who were struggling. We wanted to think about what we could design that would help. My name is Andrea Sreshta and this is Anna and we are the inventors of inflatable solar light and co-founders of Luminaid, portable solar lighting for humanitarian aid and camping.
((NATS))
((ANDREA SRESHTA, Co-founder, Luminaid))
The way Luminaid technology works is, there's a solar panel that can be charged in the sun. They all pack flat and have adjustable handles, and then the idea is you blow them up and the solar panels connected to a rechargeable battery and LED lights. This is actually a version of our lights that also charges phones, and all of our lights are waterproof and they float and everything weighs under 250 grams.
((NATS))
((ANDREA SRESHTA, Co-founder, Luminaid))
There have been moments over the past five years where we've heard from different people who have used our lights or customers that made me realize what we were doing was even that much more impactful than I could have ever imagined. I figured my whole life I'd probably be sitting in front of a computer regardless of what type of job I was doing, but I didn't realize that in addition to that, I could ever be a part of something where I had created something that would be used in places that I may never go or situations that I may never understand. And it made me feel like whatever I was doing at the time was scaling in a way that we wanted our business, our company and our products to have an impact.
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((ANNA STORK, Co-founder, Luminaid))
We believe that light is really important. Being able to charge your phone, connect to loved ones, check in on news especially in post emergency situations. It's so crucial to be able to connect to just a wider network of communication. So, we're always trying to figure out ways to improve the technology for next time or make it so it charges faster. So, that's been very rewarding for us.
