Pepsi gives light to Marawi residents

WHEN war fell on Marawi, close to 400,000 Filipinos were displaced from their homes by the siege that lasted from May to October 2017.

Marawi suffered more than P17 billion in damaged infrastructure, private properties and economic activities during the course of the war.

The darkness around the city did not just make the situation difficult and unsafe, but also perpetuated fear in the evacuees who were unsure of what the next days would bring, or what the next steps they’d take for rehabilitation are.

In September of 2017, PepsiCo and Pepsi-Cola Products Philippines Inc. (PCPPI) in partnership with MyShelter Foundation's Liter of Light went to work to provide the community with sustainable sources of light. The Pepsi Philippines team has been in partnership with MyShelter Foundation since 2011.

"We have been partners with My Shelter Foundation throughout the years. Our united desire to help rebuild the city and give the survivors from Marawi hope was what drove us to initiate this project," said PCPPI President, Samudra Bhattacharya.

The early response prompted the government to tap the Pepsi Philippines team as one of the private institutions to aid in the rebuilding of Marawi working with the Philippine Disaster Resilience Foundation to further their reach.

To get more hands into the project, the team also engaged their brand ambassadors Daniel Padilla, Jasmine Curtis-Smith, National University volleybelle Jaja Santiago, and Magic 89.9 radio jocks Tin Gamboa (DJ Suzy), Anthony James Bueno (Tony Toni), and Eric Virata (Slick Rick) to help build Solar gasera lights in October 2017 for delivery to Marawi. Each gasera light is made of LED bulbs wired to miniature solar panels using a copper board. It houses rechargeable batteries similar to those found in computers.