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Solar oven ministry changes lives

By Lilla Marigza
April 6, 2026 | RAYMOND, S.D. (UM News)

Volunteers with Solar Oven Partners talk about how these simple ovens are changing lives in places like Haiti, the Dominican Republic, Sierra Leone and the Navajo Nation. Video by Lilla Marigza, UM News; photos courtesy of Solar Oven Partners.

Over the past 25 years, United Methodist Solar Oven Partners has offered a simple device to improve nutrition, promote better health and prevent deforestation in vulnerable communities in Haiti, the Dominican Republic, Sierra Leone and the Navajo Nation. The ministry provides opportunities for volunteers to put faith into action, and they say the experience of changing people’s lives is unforgettable. Lilla Marigza has the story.

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Recipients of sun-powered ovens learn to adapt local recipes to the new cooking method. This photo was taken during a United Methodist Solar Oven Partners workshop for new oven owners in Bo, Sierra Leone, in December 2025. Photo courtesy of Solar Oven Partners.
Recipients of sun-powered ovens learn to adapt local recipes to the new cooking method. This photo was taken during a United Methodist Solar Oven Partners workshop for new oven owners in Bo, Sierra Leone, in December 2025. Photo courtesy of Solar Oven Partners.

Solar Oven Partners is looking for mission volunteers for the summer of 2026 and beyond for upcoming trips to Sierra Leone and the Navajo Nation in Shiprock, New Mexico. Follow Solar Oven Partners on Facebook for upcoming mission opportunities.

United Methodists also can support the ministry with financial support toward materials to manufacture the ovens, and by sewing potholders and collecting money to buy supplies that go into cooking kits. Donate to Solar Oven Partners through United Methodist Committee on Relief Advance #418812.

Marigza is a multimedia producer for UM News. Contact her at (615) 742-5470 or newsdesk@umnews.org. To read more United Methodist news, subscribe to the free UM News Digest.

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