In August 2010, d.light passed the milestone of 1.5 million lives impacted worldwide. The market potential of our products is proving to be hugely successful when combined with an effective distribution strategy. In India alone, we have impacted over 500,000 lives through a widespread rural distribution network. Many thanks for your support in helping us get here!

To meet our ambitious goal of impacting 50M people by the end of 2015, we will both strengthen our existing distributor relationships and expand our customer base. We are proud of the high number of repeat orders that we receive from satisifed distributors, including the World Bank's additional 5,000 order for relief efforts in Haiti (pictured). But our new sales are growing: Each month, three quarters of our sales come from new customers in new off-grid areas.

We'll keep you posted as d.light continues to reach even greater milestones!

Beginning this month, our logo has officially been updated to white with an orange background. Moving forward, you will see more of this corporate color in our communications. We are also updating our product names to bolster the d.light brand, beginning with D.LIGHT S250, our second generation solar light and mobile phone charger. The S250 is already available in most markets around the world. To learn more about the improved performance of this product, please visit our website.

You may remember that d.light has teamed up with Tanzanian multimedia organization Femina HIP to promote safe, bright solar lighting for every student across the country. Their efforts just got a big boost, with nationally-renowned artist and poet Mrisho Mpoto releasing "Mama Siwema," the official song for the Right to Safe Light campaign.

The song mourns the loss of several girls killed in a tragic kerosene fire at a school in 2009, which prompted the campaign, and envisions a brighter future in which solar lighting is available to all. Watch the music video here!

We are excited to share the experience of Amy Van Goey, a customer from Benin, West Africa, where the Peace Corps has been distributing the Kiran to their volunteers.

"I love my Kiran. I don’t have electricity and it really comes in handy. Before I had a Kiran, I would use a lantern, candles or a flashlight. The lantern and candles were so hot at night, which isn’t a problem with the battery operated Kiran. Being an environmental volunteer, I didn’t like using batteries for my flashlight or kerosene for my lantern. Now I have a more environmentally-friendly option, which I love. The design of the Kiran is also great. It’s easy to hang on things and the stopper pegs make it easy to direct the light to where I need it. Thank you so much. I can really tell there has been a lot of thought and consideration put into the design."