The Philippines

Solar Panel Fundraiser

This is what inspired me in the Summer of my rising Sophomore year to start a fundraiser. My goal was to raise money for solar panels and a solar suitcase (a solar controller) that I planned to install in the Philippines. I worked through family members who have broad contacts in the Filipino community to launch a fundraising effort, which raised $1,500. That Winter break, I donated and personally installed the solar panels and solar suitcase in a remote village in Aborlan Philippines. I partnered with We Share Solar where I was able to buy the solar suitcase, and a local solar panel business owner to supply the panels and battery. Additionally, I work through The Green Lion (a local non-profit) for housing, food, and logistical help on the project. We ended up installing the solar panels on the Community Centre of a Tagbanua tribe village, the oldest surviving tribe in the Philippines. This allowed them to conduct their annual celebration for the first time with lights and electricity supplied by the solar system we funded and installed! This experience and the appreciation from the people we helped inspired me to found my non-profit, Hapa Kabsat.

Here is the fundraising flyer I sent to friends and family in Sacramento

While delivering and installing solar panels in December 2022, many school-age children came to ask me what the panels were and how they worked. I realized that many of these students likely wouldn’t be taught about some of the most important science based subjects, like STEM, the scientific method, or environmental science. When I got home from my work in the Philippines, I created Hapa Kabsat with the goal of teaching students through interactive, custom designed learning kits/experiments. This was one of the most difficult things I have ever done, and ended up being one of my proudest accomplishments. As the founder and CEO, I raised almost $6,700, which funded 260 kits and travel in December 2023 to do live demos/experiments and teacher training in the Filipino community in Aborlan. My work during this trip focused on live expereiments for over 75 school-age children. Most exciting was the fact that the kids really enjoyed the kits/experiments, and said they learned a lot by using them.

Here is the Hapa Kabsat website