Courtesy photo
Members of the Lviv Jewish community display the solar light fixtures they received as part of the American-based SunLight Ukraine project. The solar-powered devices are waterproof and last up to 50 hours when the lithium battery inside them is fully charged. They have a built-in USB plug that can be used to charge mobile phones so war-weary Ukrainians can stay in contact with loved ones.
Wednesday, Feb. 15, 2023 | 2 a.m.
It started as a simple project: Help bring light to the people of Ukraine whose power supply had been limited following the months of bombing by Vladimir Putin’s Russia.
More than 3,500 solar lanterns later, brothers Paul and John Andrews are overwhelmed with the support they’ve received in helping deliver light to those in need and ready to expand their project.
SunLight Ukraine since December has helped coordinate the distribution of the lanterns, which are shipped overseas from Chino, Calif., and driven by students at the Ukraine Catholic University in Lviv of affected families in war-torn parts of the country. They pick up the lights in neighboring Poland.
“What Putin and his regime are doing is trying to destroy the community in a major way,” said John Andrews, a Rhode Island resident. “The most wonderful sense of fulfillment (in the project) is developing community to counter that horrific message, even if it’s from the other side of the globe. You get the sense that we are all in this together and that we will prevail together.”
The solar-powered devices are waterproof and last up to 50 hours when the lithium battery inside them is fully charged. They have a built-in USB plug that can be used to charge mobile phones so Ukrainians can stay in contact with loved ones.
The heavy bombing of Ukraine’s energy infrastructure has left many cities in complete darkness, bringing a sense of urgency to SunLight Ukraine and its partners, the group said. Sunlight Ukraine is a project of the Charter for Compassion, which urges religions of the world to embrace the core value of compassion.
“We are seeing pictures and videos, and they are very grateful to have (the lanterns),” said Paul Andrews of Northern California. “That motivates us to get more out there. These people are hurting. The bombing is deliberate to leave people in the cold and the dark. It makes a big difference for a family to have light at night to read to their kids or sit at the dinner table.”
The first shipment of solar lights was delivered by the students in December to three Jewish communities during Hanukkah as an act of interfaith solidarity, Paul Andrews said. When receiving the lights, he said one rabbi commented, “May these lights remind us all that the power of light will overcome the power of darkness.”
The Andrewses are using that interfaith spirit to enhance their efforts, calling on friends in faith-based communities across the nation to spread the word.
In Las Vegas, they reached out to Gard Jameson of the Interfaith Council of Southern Nevada, who blasted the information to colleagues across multiple faith denominations. Jameson is also a member of the global board for Charter for Compassion.
The solar devices retail for $44, Paul Andrews said, but the group is getting them wholesale for $18 from MPOWERD, a group he said had a business model that included donations to charity. It’s another $25 per device in shipping, officials said.
Paul Andrews said that the “more support we can get, the more lights we can send.”
Visit sunlightukraine.org to make a donation and learn more.
