Miracle of Light in the Philippines

On a church trip in 1998 to Mindanao, the second largest island in the Philippines, Travis Housley, vice president of special projects at Big Rivers Electric Corporation, a generation and transmission (G&T) co-op based in Henderson, Ky., journeyed to a jungle village and discovered it had no electricity. At the local church, the pastor told Housley it was his dream to have power.

“If we get you the materials, can you provide the labor?” Housley asked the minister.

With the help and support of the G&T’s board of directors, CEO, and its three member distribution co-ops, enough supplies and materials were collected and shipped to energize a power line to the isolated hamlet. Based on the success of the goodwill endeavor, Big Rivers Electric decided to spread power to other inaccessible communities and started its “Philippines Project.”

In cooperation with the NRECA International Foundation and the Sister Cooperative Partnership Program, Big Rivers Electric joined with nearby Davao Del Sur Electric Cooperative to electrify approximately 30 villages on Mindanao, impacting the lives of more than 7,200 residents. The G&T has also expanded operations to assist another Philippines electric cooperative, Davao Oriental Rural Electric Cooperative.

“Our Philippines Project focuses not only on generating power but also spurring economic and village development,” Housley indicates. “Sewing machines, computers, and other equipment have been donated to help villages establish local businesses, which in turn help pay for electricity. Moreover, the project supports an equipment refurbishing shop that repairs, rewinds, and paints donated electrical equipment, like transformers.”

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