Morrison and Knight worked alongside a team of 15 volunteers from across North Carolina cooperatives to bring electricity to the village of El Plan Nuevo Amanecer for the first time. From framing poles to constructing more than three miles of line, all by hand, their efforts delivered power to more than 50 homes, a school, two churches, and the community’s only health clinic.

The project is part of the Brighter World Initiative, led by North Carolina’s Electric Cooperatives in partnership with the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association’s (NRECA) International Foundation. This initiative extends the cooperative mission globally by helping bring electricity to rural and remote communities for the first time.

Students have better resources to learn, safety is improved with an illuminated neighborhood, families gain new ways to cook and preserve food, and small businesses can thrive, all because electricity was brought to them.

In El Plan Nuevo Amanecer, where access to education and job opportunities has been limited, electricity brings a powerful new sense of possibility. Students have better resources to learn, safety is improved with an illuminated neighborhood, families gain new ways to cook and preserve food, and small businesses can thrive, all because electricity was brought to them. Over time, these changes will help open doors to opportunities and build a stronger future for the village.

To mark the project’s completion, community members, local leaders, and volunteers gathered at the school for a ribbon-cutting ceremony and celebration. Volunteers were honored with plaques and a commemorative sign was installed in the village to recognize their achievement.

What began as a week of service became something far more lasting: a connection between community and a reminder of what cooperation can accomplish. Now that the lights are on in this Guatemalan village, Morrison and Knight’s impact will be felt in every late-night study session, every safe walk home, and every dream that no longer must end at sundown.