One of the world's great tragedies is that about one in five people on the planet lack access to basic electricity.  That's 1.4 billion people who live without the convenience and safety of lighting, who cannot refrigerate their food or medicine, who still pump water by hand and where charging a cell phone can be a day's walk.

It will take the combined efforts of the private sector, governments, philanthropists, entrepreneurs, inventors, charitable organizations and committed individuals to attack this problem.

It will also take the loving power of Jesus.

Mexico - Cassidy and Memi with kids at school (Cobblestone Community Church (Oxford, OH))

SonLight Power mission teams uniquely combine expertise in solar energy with community outreach and ministry - transforming and empowering lives in the process.

We collaborate with those we serve, equipping schools, medical clinics, water-pumping stations, orphanages and churches with sustainable solar power.

Core to our outreach model is training in-country partners how to install and maintain solar power systems, promoting self-sufficiency and a can-do legacy that is essential to breaking the cycle of energy poverty.

Steve Melink is a national clean energy expert with three decades of successful experience as founder and CEO of Melink Corporation.  He is author of the book, CEO Power & Light: Transcendent Leadership For A Sustainable World.

See why Steve Melink thinks SonLight Power is meeting the need in a sensible way: