Col’s Chat – Locals through my Lens
Dr Padma Narsey Lal and the Solar Buddy Team
There are a lot of things we take for granted in our everyday lives: provisions, healthcare, power and food. But what if one or more of those basic needs was removed from our way of life? Imagine coming home from work or school to a home with no electricity; no light.
This is a truism for many people around the world. The Solomon Islands is one of our closest neighbours, and in the remote Kwainaa’isi community, on the island of Malaita, this way of life is a daily reality. The children of the village are prevented from reading, writing or doing their homework at night.
This month I caught up with Dr Padma Narsey Lal and the students at The Gap State High School’s Interact Club to hear about their solution. Padma explained, “To help these children access light for their education, Rotary Club of Ashgrove The Gap partnered with local Interact Clubs, at The Gap State High Scholl (TGSHS), to build solar light kits for disadvantaged children in our neighbouring countries.
Kits were purchased from an Australian registered charity, Solar Buddy, that works with local community groups and businesses in Australia to build solar lights to gift to children in places like Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea, Timor Leste, and Ethiopia.”
TGSHS Interact Club member Isaac said, “It’s wonderful giving people who live in different countries and aren’t so fortunate as us, the opportunity to study after dark when they have no lights.”
Solar buddy lights are small enough to be carried by a child, charged during the day and give 6-8 hours of light. It can easily be used by a child to read or do homework at night and families to use for other purposes.
High school students Ben, Bethan and Aiden gave a clear insight into the passion for the project, and the importance of their involvement. “The components are supplied locally, and we assemble the lights ready for them to be shipped overseas.” “It makes you feel empowered and, by building it in our school [the community], it helps raise awareness of the problems that affect others. It’s great being hands on and we enjoy taking ownership of the solution.” “It really makes me want to find more charities to help in the future, to help other people live better lives.”
The students, not only have fun working together, but they also learn about compassion, empathy and the joy of community service, and making a difference.
One of the villagers from the Kwainaaísi village, Solomon Islands said, “We never thought that the words we heard about the lights will one day become a reality. Today is like a dream come true. We thank you and we love you all from the bottom of our hearts. We know that this is hard for us to repay…. what you have done for us. The lights will be of great benefit to us for our study and use at home.”
As I was leaving, I was approached by James. His view on the project was that it was, “Pretty lit!”. Can’t argue with that.
If you’d like to know more about how our local schools are helping children without light, or get involved, contact the Rotary Club of Ashgrove The Gap.
Author & photographer: Colin Bushell / Colin Bushell Photography
