Dear Generous Kopernik Supporter,
I am writing to personally thank you for the generous donation you made in the aftermath of the devastating earthquake and tsunami that hit Japan on March 11. Thanks to you, and others like you, Kopernik was able to quickly deliver thousands of solar lights and solar powered hearing aids to people who had lost everything in the disaster.
I recently traveled to the affected area and spoke to people who had received Kopernik technology. Their feedback was overwhelmingly positive. I wanted to share with you some of the comments I heard during my visit:
"AT FIRST, THE CORRIDOR TO THE REST ROOM WAS LIT UP BY CANDLES. EACH TIME AN AFTER-SHOCK STRUCK, THE EVACUATION CENTRE STAFF RAN TO BLOW OUT THE CANDLES TO PREVENT A FIRE. SINCE THE SOLAR LANTERNS REPLACED CANDLES, WE HAVE BETTER LIGHTS, AND EVERYONE FEELS SAFER."
For those who are hearing impaired, solar lanterns became indispensable for communication:
"WITHOUT LIGHT I WAS SPEECHLESS. THANKS TO THE SOLAR LANTERN, IT IS NOW BRIGHT AROUND ME, AND IT IS POSSIBLE FOR ME TO SEE PEOPLE’S MOUTHS AND FACIAL EXPRESSIONS. I RECOVERED THE ABILITY TO COMMUNICATE."
The clean up and reconstruction process is well underway in the disaster affected area, and electricity is back in many areas, however the need for solar lights remains:
"ALTHOUGH THE ELECTRICITY IS NOW BACK, THERE ARE MANY PEOPLE WHO WANT TO HAVE A SOLAR LANTERN IN ORDER TO FEEL SECURE. FROM NOW ON, A RADIO AND A LANTERN WILL BE CONSIDERED AS INDISPENSABLE IN JAPAN – IN CASE OF BLACKOUT OR… IF… ANOTHER BIG EARTHQUAKE STRIKES."
The solar powered hearing aids were indispensable to replace those that had been lost or damaged in the disaster and received great reviews:
"WITH THE SOLAR HEARING AID, I WAS ABLE TO HEAR BETTER THAN WITH HEARING AID I USUALLY USE."
You can view more feedback, photos and information about Kopernik’s response to the emergency. Being Japanese, I was really touched and humbled by the extent of support for the emergency projects in my country. It is people like you, with a desire to help others in a time of need that are such a fundamental part of Kopernik.
We hope to see you back at kopernik.info where you can help more people get access to life-changing technology.
Thank you for being part of the Kopernik community
Toshi Nakamura
