Woman on helping people keep the lights on during lockdown — 'It brings me peace'

Helen Millar, a single mother of two, is a lockdown hero for more than 800 families she has helped with electricity donations since the launch of the Keep the Lights On foundation about two weeks after SA went into lockdown.

Millar had joined Facebook groups for people to donate food parcels to communities, but realised there was a need for electricity voucher donations.

“That is the one thing that struck me. I was in one group where people were asking for food. They were telling us they get food donations but they can’t cook the food because they don’t have electricity, or they can’t have a hot bath.”

Through the Keep the Lights On Facebook page, a website and a BackaBuddy, Millar has helped 855 families across the country, but 2,300 are still waiting for donors. She has raised a little over R7,000 in donations.

None of the funds raised go to her directly.

“Most of my recipients come from Facebook, which is where they put their cellphone number, ID number, and meter number so I know they are who they say they are. I give the details to the sponsor, who then deposits directly through their bank.

“Local and international sponsors donate a minimum of R100, which is enough for one family. Some have adopted a family who they help with electricity every two weeks. One Australian sponsor donated R1,000 worth of electricity to a single family,” she said.

Millar home schools her daughters, aged six and 19, who haven’t been able to attend school due to the lockdown. In addition, she has a day job as a photographer.

She said the project was time-consuming as she used to enter the recipients’ details manually, until her sister helped develop a system which automatically enters the details on an excel sheet.

“It was taking every single minute of my time because I was doing it manually. I’d go to work during the day, spend a little bit of time with the kids, and then work on the project at night. Whenever I worked on it, we’d get more sponsors, so it’s one of those things you’ve got to keep doing.”

As a single mother, Millar has had her fair share of struggles and wanted to use her platform and circle of friends, who she initially asked for donations, to make sure no mother and child are in the dark.

What does she gain from all of this, you may wonder?

“Peace.”

“I was thinking about all these people and these moms. All I want is to make sure they feed their kids and cook them porridge. It’s given me a lot of peace because during the lockdown, there are many people to worry about.”

Stories from recipients’ make the work even more worthwhile.

“One woman said she has a disabled brother and she was happy she was able to bath him in warm water. Moms write back, saying they’re crying because they have power and can cook for their families.”

*Millar was shortlisted in the SA Lockdown Hero competition