Teen delivers solar lamps to hundreds of hurricane-hit Puerto Ricans

Puerto Rico after hurricane Maria.
(Image credit: LIONEL CHAMOISEAU/AFP/Getty Images)

The lights are back on in many Puerto Rican homes, thanks to one high school student. Salvador Gómez Colón, 15, sprang into action after Hurricane Maria smashed into the island last fall, launching a crowdfunding campaign to raise money for portable solar lamps. While his hometown of San Juan has regained sporadic power, many residents in hard-hit rural areas still have no light. So Colon began spending his weekends distributing the lamps to the island's small villages, using the more than $125,000 he raised online. In four months, he has helped brighten more than 840 homes. "This experience has taught me to be grateful for what I have," Salvador told CNN. Christina Colizza

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Christina Colizza

Christina Colizza is chief researcher and writer at The Week magazine.