Volunteers Bring Light to Young People in Energy-poor, Remote Communities

This Christmas season, volunteers in Australia, New Zealand and other parts of the South Pacific are bringing light to children and youth in remote locations who are experiencing energy poverty.

Elder Taniela B. Wakolo, a Fijian General Authority Seventy in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, explained the scope of the humanitarian project: “In 11 different locations — from Perth in Australia’s west to Papeete in French Polynesia — in the weeks leading up to Christmas, volunteers happily assembled 11,000 small solar lights, ready for delivery to children and youth and their families in remote communities with no electricity in their homes.”

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As teenagers attending a For the Strength of Youth conference in Fiji last week assembled 1,000 lights, ready for delivery to other young people, Young Women General President Emily Belle Freeman, who was visiting the area at the time, said, “I love that the sign of Jesus Christ is light.”

“I want to bear testimony of the power of light, of the importance of light in dark places. Not only does light help us to see, but Jesus also helps us to see better. In the darkest times of our lives, He will bring light and goodness,” she said.

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Paul Reid, Pacific Area Manager of the Church’s Welfare and Self-Reliance Services, knew about SolarBuddy through a previous project.

“Randomly, one morning I woke up with the idea of having thousands of our Church youth and young adults ‘Light the World’ at Christmas with a gift for thousands of children around the Pacific who often do not have light to read or study after the sun goes down,” he said.

Carl Maurer, who worked with Mike Malouf in coordinating the effort, said, “This lighting the world will be a blessing to those in energy poverty locations in the Pacific, where not only the receiver is blessed, but the giver also.”

Tehina Avaeoru of French Polynesia shared one way she felt blessed as a volunteer assembler of SolarBuddy lights. 

“This activity was very uplifting because we were able to help others," she said. “I really felt the Spirit (of God) and the love we can have for each other.”

Fellow volunteer Tamarua Richmond agreed.

“To have done it with friends was even better. It was a great atmosphere. We all had our part to play and I'm glad we did it.”

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Todd Miller from Hamilton, New Zealand, said, “Today has been a fantastic opportunity for young and old to do something for someone else this Christmas season. We hope these small lights will make a big difference.”

When Jiovilisi Seniceva heard about the SolarBuddy humanitarian project, he thought about the people in the outer islands of his homeland of Fiji.

“Many don’t have light in their homes, and I hope this project can help,” he said.

Church Welfare and Self-Reliance employee Peniette Seru joined a group of Church members who visited a small village in Fiji’s south to deliver SolarBuddy lights to families last Saturday. She smiled as she recounted her experience distributing lights to young people who live in homes with no electricity.

“One hundred and fifty other lights were donated to a children’s heart hospital (in Suva) to be given to children who come in from outer islands,” she said.

Not only did volunteers assemble lights, but they also wrote notes to each future recipient.

Australian volunteer Yvette Barnes wrote in a letter to a light recipient: “We hope that every time you use this light, you know this is made with love from me.”

Reflecting on her experience, she said, “For every person here, there's a good vibe, good energy. We're feeling the love.”

From this project that began as a “light bulb idea,” thousands of children will see the world in a new light.

“We are inspired by Jesus Christ, the Light of the World, and His example of bringing light to those who sit in darkness,” Elder Wakolo said.

“We hope our small gifts of love and light — made possible by the Australian charity, SolarBuddy, and by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints — will brighten hearts, homes and futures.”