Media Home
UN Web TV
UN Audiovisual Library
UN PhotoTIMOR LESTE / SOLAR POWER
STORY: TIMOR LESTE / SOLAR POWER
TRT: 06:10
SOURCE: UN NEWS PORTUGUESE
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / TETUM / NATS
DATELINE: 03 SEPTEMBER 2024, RAIMUTIN, ILIHEU, MANATUTO, TIMOR-LESTE
1. Various shots, aerial views of village and surrounding mountains
2. Aerial shot, solar panel atop thatch roofed home
3. Various shots, solar panel
4. Various shots, villagers
5. Wide shot, Madalena Biliba Soares sitting cross-legged
6. SOUNDBITE (Tetum) Madalena Biliba Soares, Resident, Raimutin:
“You can all see the condition of this road now, during the dry season. In the rainy season, we cannot access, neither walking, nor by motorbike or car.”
7. Various shots, Madalena demonstrating efficient stove provided by UNDP
8. Aerial shot, community centre
9. Various shots, children outside community centre
10. Med shot, villagers
11. Tilt down, community centre thatched ceiling showing solar light
12. Close up, solar light
13. Close up, solar panel
14. SOUNDBITE (Tetum) Francisco Soares, Suco Chief, Iliheu:
“We are from Iliheu village, Raimutin sub-village. we are happy and appreciative of this solar panel distribution to our community.”
15. Various shots, solar panels atop thatch roofed homes
16. SOUNDBITE (Tetum) Francisco Soares, Suco Chief, Iliheu:
“There are changes, for example, our younger student siblings couldn’t study at night, but thanks to this opportunity, they can study at night and also their parents can do activities at night.”
17. Various shots, cattle
18. SOUNDBITE (English) Yuuka Mamekoshi, Project Manager, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP):
“We're improving the access to the clean energy in the rural communities and also the public sectors in Timor-Leste. And this village is selected because they have not access to the national grid yet.”
19. Various shots, solar panels atop thatch roofed homes
20. SOUNDBITE (English) Yuuka Mamekoshi, Project Manager, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP):
“The solar panel has the full lights in the household and also the charging ports. So, they can also charge their phones, and that basically they can use it for the lights in the inside the household at night. So, the students and the kids can study at home even after the sun sets. And also, the parents and the mothers, they can still work at home after the sunset.”
21. Various shots, Manuel Morais Soares demonstrating solar powered lights
22. SOUNDBITE (Tetum) Manuel Morais Soares, Resident, Raimutin:
“Well, with our respect, we live here with 9 people.”
23. Various shots, Manuel demonstrating solar powered lights
24. SOUNDBITE (Tetum) Manuel Morais Soares, Resident, Raimutin:
“With these lights that were given to us, we feel our children can study and we can do activities in the nighttime.”
25. Various shots, Manuel demonstrating solar powered lights
26. SOUNDBITE (English) Yuuka Mamekoshi, Project Manager, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP):
“How we select the household is basically based on the decision of the communities. So, we are organizing the community meetings and all the decision is made by them. So, we are just giving them the authority to leading this project and also asking them to cooperate.”
27. Various shots, solar panels atop thatch roofed homes
28. SOUNDBITE (Tetum) Francisco Soares, Suco Chief, Iliheu:
“Well, talking about the economy that solar panels already support, we can reduce the money for buying candles, wood, and so on.”
29. Wide shot, Manuel weaving a basket
30. SOUNDBITE (Tetum) Manuel Morais Soares, Resident, Raimutin:
“We make these crafts, and we bring them to be sold in the market to get some money to support the children for going to school.”
31. Various shots, solar panels atop thatch roofed homes
32. SOUNDBITE (English) Yuuka Mamekoshi, Project Manager, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP):
“The important thing is this is the clean energy. So that's they can improving the life of quality, but at the same time they can minimize the impact of the climate change.”
33. Aerial shot, village
34. Various shots, villagers
In the isolated and remote village of Raimutin in Timor-Leste, the challenges to accessing basic services such as clean water and electricity are made even more intense by the increase in extreme weather events such as droughts and floods.
The landscape is arid, and the houses are quite simple, built with straw and wood, but at the top of many of them, it is possible to see the glow of solar energy panels.
63 of the 87 homes already have solar energy panels, installed by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), an initiative that reinforces in practice the central message of the 2025 International Clean Energy Day, celebrated this Sunday (26 Jan), which states that no one should be left behind.
Visiting Raimutin, UN News witnessed how access to electricity is transforming the lives of families, especially the 50 children and adolescents who attend school. Access to the village is difficult, via long, tortuous bumpy dirt roads.
Resident Madalena Soares reports that in the rainy season, access is blocked and the only way to hydrate is by drinking rainwater. She explains that when the rain stops, the flow of the river decreases, which also makes it difficult to find drinking water.
SOUNDBITE (Tetum) Madalena Biliba Soares, Resident, Iliheu Village:
“You can all see the condition of this road now, during the dry season. In the rainy season, we cannot access, neither walking, nor by motorbike or car.”
UNDP has also distributed efficient wood burning stoves, which use only twigs and small sticks as fuel, reducing firewood consumption and lessening the physical burden of collecting wood.
The village chief, Francisco Soares is thankful for UNDP’s help and said that with solar energy, children can now study at night and parents can work in search of more sustenance.
SOUNDBITE (Tetum) Francisco Soares, Suco Chief, Iliheu:
“We are from Iliheu village, Raimutin sub-village. we are happy and appreciative of this solar panel distribution to our community.”
“There are changes, for example, our younger student siblings couldn’t study at night, but thanks to this opportunity, they can study at night and also their parents can do activities at night.”
In Raimutin, 264 of the 325 inhabitants already benefit from solar panels to light their homes. Project Manager Yuuka Mamekoshi explained how villages are chosen for this project and the benefits it brings.
SOUNDBITE (English) Yuuka Mamekoshi, Project Manager, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP):
“We're improving the access to the clean energy in the rural communities and also the public sectors in Timor-Leste. And this village is selected because they have not access to the national grid yet.”
“The solar panel has the full lights in the household and also the charging ports. So, they can also charge their phones, and that basically they can use it for the lights in the inside the household at night. So, the students and the kids can study at home even after the sun sets. And also, the parents and the mothers, they can still work at home after the sunset.”
Manuel Morais Soares, who shares his modest home with 9 people, including his two daughters, is one of the beneficiaries.
SOUNDBITE (Tetum) Manuel Morais Soares, Resident, Raimutin:
“Well, with our respect, we live here with 9 people.”
“With these lights that were given to us, we feel our children can study and we can do activities in the nighttime.”
Mamekoshi pointed out that all decisions regarding this project are made by the community.
SOUNDBITE (English) Yuuka Mamekoshi, Project Manager, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP):
“How we select the household is basically based on the decision of the communities. So, we are organizing the community meetings, and all the decision is made by them. So, we are just giving them the authority to leading this project and also asking them to cooperate.”
Families also benefit from the project by saving money.
SOUNDBITE (Tetum) Francisco Soares, Suco Chief, Iliheu:
“Well, talking about the economy that solar panels already support, we can reduce the money for buying candles, wood, and so on.”
Manuel works with the sale of handicrafts to be able to support children's studies.
SOUNDBITE (Tetum) Manuel Morais Soares, Resident, Raimutin:
“We make these crafts, and we bring them to be sold in the market to get some money to support the children for going to school.”
In addition to improving the quality of life, the solution prevents the worsening of the climate crisis, to which Timor-Leste is highly vulnerable, despite having contributed little to creating it.
SOUNDBITE (English) Yuuka Mamekoshi, Project Manager, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP):
“The important thing is this is the clean energy. So that's they can improving the life of quality, but at the same time they can minimize the impact of the climate change.”
This project, with funding from the Government of Japan and implemented by UNDP, aims to support 4 Pacific Small Island Countries (SIDS) – Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Timor-Leste, and Vanuatu – on its green transformation journey, through the promotion of low carbon energy emissions and renewable energy technology, specifically, solar energy.
Download
There is no media available to download.
