| The houses bobbed on the water. A villager told us the recent typhoon had damaged one, no expression or emotion in his voice – just a simple narrative from someone who has seen it all too often. The people here are used to losing everything overnight. During the monsoon season, the run-down buoys supporting the houses cannot carry the weight. Looking closer we could not find much stuff; old clothes, framed wedding photos, mattresses and distorted pots and pans were their only assets. The most valued item was probably their fan. All of the villagers are from the neighboring provinces, they came to Hanoi to earn a living. Some sell lottery tickets, some sell fruit, other food, and some are too old to work and heavily rely on their family members. It’s a hard life. Night time seems so much longer to them than it does to us – with no electricity, they lived in the dark.
The wind turbines designed by 1516 lit up their life – literally. A combination of wind blades, a generator, solar panels and a charging control system which cost less than USD 200 provides enough power to light a few bulbs and run a fan day in day out.
We sat down with villagers to collect their feedback on the effectiveness of the wind turbines and how much it changed their quality of life. The smiles sparkled on their faces. We were more than touched when an old man talked in his low voice: living here we counted on nothing, on no one, but these young boys came and their wind turbines made our lives better. We said nothing.
We did not bring anything to fill their empty home but we left with the happiness that we helped those people fill up their home with light. I myself noticed the school uniforms hanging in the front doors and smiled secretly thinking, it could probably be more than just a light but a brighter future for their next generations. This Week's BBGV Chairman's Insight: Benefits and Challenges of CPTPP. Read more | 