By Emily Schilling

It’s fitting that in this issue before Thanksgiving we provide an update on Project Indiana. Through this initiative, created by Indiana’s electric cooperatives to empower underdeveloped countries, we can change lives in so many ways.

In the last six years, linemen from electric cooperatives throughout Indiana have traveled to remote impoverished areas of Guatemala to build power lines and energize communities. Our crews have formed unbreakable bonds with grateful villagers, hardworking local men who work tirelessly alongside them to set electric poles and string power lines, and the children who regard the American linemen as superheroes who’ve arrived to provide them with a true superpower — the power of electricity.

Through each Project Indiana trip, the lives of not only the current villagers but those of generations to come are radically improved. Tedious chores become easier with the help of electric appliances and productivity increases with electric machinery. The ability to brighten a whole room with the flip of a switch is something we all take for granted but for those who have been unaccustomed to such a luxury, it’s a miracle that can lead to unimagined possibilities.

In 2019, volunteers from Indiana’s electric cooperatives will return to Guatemala to electrify another rural village. Lineworkers will tackle some of their greatest challenges amid rough terrain, high altitude and uncomfortable weather conditions. They do it because they can make a difference.

You can make a difference, too. This Thanksgiving, a time when we pause to give thanks for our blessings, consider getting involved with Project Indiana. Visit ProjectIndiana.org to learn how you can help our global neighbors.

EMILY SCHILLING is editor of Electric Consumer