Flipping the Switch on Opportunity: The Church Helps Bring Solar Power to Navajo Nation Families
As the sun set each evening in the Navajo Nation, Colynn Begay used a small battery-powered light to help her five sons finish homework, prepare snacks and get ready for bed. On its brightest setting, the light often lasted only 20 minutes.
“Life is so challenging because I have no electricity,” said Begay, a single mother. “When this light goes out for me, I have no way to see to get my kids ready or prepare their school clothes the night before. Even walking into the kitchen, I cannot see in there, so I would just have to use my phone [light]. And my kids can’t do their homework because we have no light at night. So I usually try to do their homework with them the moment they get back from school.”
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Begay’s family lives about 30 minutes outside Chinle, Arizona. Across the Navajo Nation, approximately 14,000 homes lack access to electricity. Like many families, daily life revolved around daylight, including driving to relatives’ homes to charge devices, and traveling an hour round trip each night just to eat out because they had neither a refrigerator nor a stove.
That changed in early March 2026 when her home received a solar power system through a collaboration between Heart of America, a national education nonprofit, and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
In recent years, the Church has supported efforts to expand access to electricity and water in remote Navajo Nation communities, working alongside tribal, state and nonprofit collaborators.
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Illuminated only by a small hand-held rechargeable LED light, Colynn Begay looks for a book on the bed at her home on the Navajo Nation tribal lands near Chinle, Arizona, on Wednesday, March 4, 2026.2026 by Intellectual Reserve, Inc. All rights reserved.Download Photo
Meeting a Foundational Need
Heart of America works with local school districts to identify households with K–12 students that lack electricity. The organization has installed solar systems in hundreds of homes across the Navajo Nation, focusing on educational stability and student well-being.
“The opportunity for us to provide students and their families with electricity and power at home really is a game changer,” said Heart of America President and CEO Jill Heath. “We focus on making sure the student has what he or she needs to succeed — the ability to do homework after the sun sets, the ability to read, to connect with family. However, that’s just the beginning.”
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After learning of the need and visiting the area, the Church joined with Heart of America to fund solar installations for another 100 student-family homes. In total, Heart of America has now helped more than 450 such homes across the Navajo Nation. The Church’s support also helps provide portable lighting as well as age‑appropriate educational and enrichment materials for families.
“We were thrilled, we were overjoyed, and started planning immediately,” Heath said. “When this grant came along, and the Church so generously said, ‘We want to help provide more students with electricity and power,’ we knew that this was going to be a great collaboration.”
Power That Changes Daily Life
Each solar kit includes rooftop panels, batteries, lighting, a charge controller, an inverter and a refrigeration unit. Together, the systems provide reliable power for lighting, food storage and essential devices, replacing temporary solutions such as fuel-powered generators and battery lights.
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Mylo Fowler of Heart of America climbs a ladder with a solar panel to be installed on the roof of Colynn Begay’s home on the Navajo Nation tribal lands near Chinle, Arizona, on Thursday, March 5, 2026.2026 by Intellectual Reserve, Inc. All rights reserved.Download Photo
“We hear stories of students doing better in school because they can do their homework after dark,” said Lian Mah, who has worked on installation teams for several years. “We hear of stories of students who can keep their medicine in the refrigerator now. They don’t have to store it at a neighbor’s house. To keep their food cold, [some families] would literally freeze a gallon of water at a neighbor’s house, bring it over every day, put it in their cooler to try and keep their food cold. And now they have fresh food in their house 24-7 because of this, which is just amazing.”
Eugene Gorman, a father of three in the Red Valley community, said his family relied on generators for years, often spending significant amounts on fuel. He said the solar system will help reduce those costs and ease financial strain.
“This solar will help us a lot,” Gorman said. “We’ll be able to spend money in different places for our kids now instead of just worrying about electricity all the time. We’ll have comfort now. I really appreciate you coming out and doing this for us.”
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Installation teams can typically complete a solar setup in about an hour, providing long-term access to electricity and opportunity.
“This is a force multiplier,” Heath said. “It’s elevating opportunities with education, with basic body and mind health, and really enabling multiple generations to thrive.”
Flipping the Switch on Opportunity
For Begay, the impact was immediate.
“My kids get to do their homework [at night],” she said. “We have lights. We get to charge our laptops. We get to charge our phones and tablets. I get to wake up in the morning, turning on the light instead of using my phone. I’m very happy. I’m filled with joy and love. I’m very thankful for all of you.”
Heath said schools have seen improvements in attendance, engagement and academic focus among students whose homes receive electricity.
“The home is where you should feel the most stable, the home is where you should feel the most safe,” Heath said. “You [should] have all the basic needs covered, so that when you do go to school you can focus on learning.”
Once installed, the solar project’s meaning becomes clear, Heath added.
“Once the solar kit is in place, you flip the switch on — but it’s flipping the switch on not just to light but to opportunity,” she said.
