Stephen Surlin helping a local find a pair of glasses.
Stephen Surlin helping a local find a pair of glasses at another location.
Trying On Glasses from Stephen Surlin on Vimeo.
Tripod footage of me helping people find the glasses the need for reading and other activities when I went to Enugu State, Nigeria with ACRT (AIDS Crisis Response Team) to participate in various humanitarian activities. This mainly included health based support, like a travelling clinic.
The process of helping over 100 people find glasses, by talking to them and letting them try several pairs, was one of the main inspirations behind my work in creating sustainable design projects that bring light to people who need it.
When I returned home I began work in my Bachelor of Fine Arts – Visual Arts program to create rechargeable solar powered LED light sources.
I found that I needed quite a bit of help in figuring out what kind of components I needed to use. I had found most of the parts, and what’s needed to get them working, on my own. This included, LEDs, solar panels, lithium-ion batteries and several other components. I was especially inspired by the writings of Stuart Walker, from his book Sustainable by Design. All of this research also led me to use the Lilypad Arduino, which uses waterproof circuitry and conductive thread in order to create simple/repairable/waterproof/wearable circuits, which also encourage young children and women to get involved in electronics, especially in the type of “traditional” societies I was working in in Nigeria. Read More
