Children in East Sumba raise their SolarBuddy lamps, a portable light to take home for homework and daily life.
Original field photograph supplied by Fair Future Foundation, retained without cropping, retouching or AI alteration. Click the image to view it at full size.
The Light They Can Take Home, and the Children Still Waiting
This new Photo of the Day shows children in East Sumba holding their SolarBuddy lamps above the classroom desks. The boy in the orange shirt raises one arm. Beside him, another holds his light with both hands, looking upwards. These solar lights for children are an unusual gift here, and one that can still be useful long after the excitement of receiving it.
Solar lights for children after sunset
Look at their faces, then at the hands holding each lamp. Some children lift theirs high; others examine them closely. This is the pleasure of receiving something of their own.
Last year, we distributed 2,248 solar lights for children across nearly 30 schools. Most of these schools, and the homes around them, have no electricity. A portable light can help with homework, a journey to or from school in darkness, or the walk to a distant water source. Seeing the ground and objects at home matters for avoiding falls and injuries.
A small lamp, an unfinished responsibility
From our field work, we estimate that more than 100 schools and nearly 100,000 people in East Sumba still lack electricity. We also install larger solar systems for remote schools. Those installations and personal lamps meet different needs; a school with power does not automatically give a child light at home.
We are working to import around 3,000 more SolarBuddy lamps, aiming for arrival in 2027, God willing. In our experience, the Indonesian administrative process is painfully slow, with too little practical support for humanitarian organisations. The Indonesian authorities should make humanitarian imports workable. Instead, administrative obstacles consume time that should be spent getting these lights to children. Necessary checks cannot excuse a process that leaves children waiting.
These lamps belong in children’s hands. Making that possible should be a public priority.
Alex Wettstein – Fair Future Foundation
Related Resources
Related field resources
- Fair Future | Solar & Electrification: Explore our work with personal solar lamps and larger electricity systems, designed around the needs of schools and communities in East Sumba.
- Fair Future | Schools without electricity: Open the Schools Without Electricity map to see field locations used in planning solar lighting, school electrification and follow-up visits.
- Fair Future | Distribution update: Our January 2026 field update explains how lamp distribution expanded beyond the schools originally planned, with further deliveries still ahead.
- Fair Future | SolarBuddy education: This field report connects SolarBuddy distribution with education and practical guidance, helping children understand and use their new lamps.
- Fair Future | SDN Mbajik solar power: Read our return visit to SDN Mbajik, where a larger school solar installation supports teachers and pupils, with inspection and user feedback.
