miral welfare foundation

Today is Christmas Eve, one of the brightest days of the year.

While streets are filled with decorated trees and festive lights, there are children on the other side of the world who fear the coming of night.

In places where not even a single line of electricity reaches, all daily activities come to a stop once night falls.

For children in Liberia, who face the threat of snakes and scorpions in the dark, light is something urgently needed and deeply valuable.

Since 2012, Miral Welfare Foundation has delivered solar lanterns assembled by supporters through the ‘Lighting Children’ campaign to countries affected by energy poverty.

In 2025, 9,600 solar lanterns were delivered to six countries - Myanmar, Indonesia, Tanzania, Cebu in the Philippines, Chad, and Liberia.

Among them, 2,000 lanterns were delivered to 14 villages and 6 schools in Liberia, lighting up village nights that had long been without light.

2025 Liberia Solar Lantern Distribution Project

Liberia: A Country Where Darkness Has Become Everyday Life

Liberia is a country where approximately 40 percent of the population is under the age of 14, meaning that social challenges directly affect children’s lives. After years of civil war, Liberia remains one of the world’s least developed countries. Its economic foundation has been severely weakened, and power infrastructure - including power plants and transmission and distribution networks - has been heavily damaged, making reconstruction extremely difficult.

Even in the capital city of Monrovia, electricity supply remains below 20 percent, and most rural areas are not connected to the power grid at all. Most households rely on battery-powered lanterns or mobile phone lights at night, and it is very rare for children to have personal lighting that allows them to read or study comfortably.

Children studying with solar lanterns

When the Sun Sets, Village Life Comes to a Halt

In Liberia, nights without electricity are not a time of rest but a time of fear for residents.

After sunset, the absence of streetlights makes walking at night dangerous, and outdoor activities become extremely limited.

In a village in Margibi County, where there are no power facilities at all, daily life naturally stops once the sun goes down.

For families with young children, caregivers often feel great anxiety, as it is difficult to respond quickly when a child becomes ill at night.

A mobile phone light - charged with great effort - often becomes the only source of light. Even this requires walking for more than an hour during the day to charge the phone.

For these communities, a minimum level of light to protect everyday life was urgently needed.

Residents walking along unlit streets after sunset (Source: Firefly)

‘Solarmi’ Lanterns Light Up the Darkness

To brighten the nights of communities in Liberia, Miral Welfare Foundation decided to deliver solar lanterns called ‘Solarmi.’

The name Solarmi combines “sol,” the Latin word for sun, and “ami,” meaning friend. It reflects the hope that the lanterns will become friends that deliver sunlight to children living in energy-poor countries.

‘Solarmi’ solar lanterns delivered in Liberia

Solarmi is a portable solar lantern charged by sunlight. With six hours of charging, it can be used for up to 12 hours and has a lifespan of up to 10 years.

Through the careful work of supporters who assembled each lantern themselves, 2,000 lanterns were delivered to 14 villages and 6 schools across Margibi, Montserrado, and Bong counties in Liberia.

Solar lanterns delivered to 14 villages and 6 schools

Daily Life and Laughter Return Under the Light

After the solar lanterns were distributed, visible changes appeared in village life.

Families were able to move freely even after sunset, and caring for infants and young children - once overwhelming in the dark - became much easier.

With their own lanterns, children were able to do homework and review lessons in the evening. Many showed their parents what they had learned during the day after returning from farm work, leading to more interaction within families.

Children charging solar lanterns

In the morning, while children are at school, lanterns are lined up in the yard to recharge in the sunlight.

Some families sit nearby as the lanterns charge, watching over their precious ‘Solarmi’ lanterns so they do not go missing.

In this way, the light from the solar lanterns became more than simple lighting - it became a spark of hope.

Children watching over solar lanterns charging in the yard

A Warm Tomorrow, Lit by Today’s Light

In environments where electricity is not available at all, solar lanterns opened new possibilities - allowing children to learn, families to spend time together, and communities to live more safely.

Like the bright lights of Christmas, small lights are now continuing to shine in the nights of Liberian children.

One lantern sent by a supporter can protect a child’s night for up to 10 years.

As these small lights come together and grow into greater hope,

we invite you to become a reliable ‘friend of light’ who protects children’s nights.

Miral Welfare Foundation will continue to stand beside neighbors living in darkness, becoming a light of hope and walking forward together.