ST. GEORGE — Windswept roads and wild horses greet a Native American on his route pedaling 400 miles to raise money for solar power for families on the Navajo Nation Reservation.
Mylo Fowler set out Monday to ride from the Great Salt Lake in Northern Utah to Coppermine, Arizona, 25 miles south of Page, which he expects to complete Friday. His mission is to raise $50,000 to buy and install solar power for 50 homes of students on the reservation. He hopes to raise enough by autumn so students will have it when they return to school.
“It’s incredible how much of a massive impact even a small donation can absolutely make,” Fowler said. “I grew up on the reservation without running water or electricity. I know what it’s like to do homework under a flashlight or in front of the wood-burning stove.”
And sometimes, kids fall behind with homework and education in that situation.
“The pandemic brought those circumstances to the forefront because, with the rest of America, kids just jumped on Zoom for school,” he said. “And for a lot of Indigenous kids, that really isn’t the case because the internet’s not available.”
Another concern of homes without electricity is having no refrigeration available. Fowler said it is hard for children to be healthy while growing and developing if they cannot consume healthy foods. To identify which families need some assistance, he works with area schools.
“Some of these kids are high school athletes,” Fowler said. “They have a hard time staying healthy sometimes because they’re not able to have healthy proteins or vegetables. They can’t keep that kind of food fresh without refrigeration.”
When families are focused on what they will eat, homework and education take the back seat. He sometimes had to do his homework on the bus ride into town.
Having access to the internet is a challenge for students who may need to complete research for school. According to the Heart of America website, 14% of Native American families lack reliable access to power. Through the organization’s initiative Skip the Grid, 10,000 students received solar lanterns and 75 homes received solar power installation.
Many families across Utah and Arizona are unable to safely power devices, refrigerate food or sustain light after dark and in the early morning hours, the website adds.
“For somebody who doesn’t have power or the internet at their house, they’ve got to coordinate and figure out where they actually have access to the internet to further their education, so it does create barriers,” Fowler said. “However, I think it develops a pretty resilient individual. I realize that we had to give it a little more effort than the average person. We’re a little bit better because of it and we take those lessons and apply them elsewhere to go above and beyond in life.”
Since 2015, Fowler has been working with Goal Zero, a company in Salt Lake City, Utah, to bring solar power to the reservation. The company gave him a discount to purchase the solar kits and Fowler would install them on his own time. Fowler is a freelance photographer for National Geographic and would use some of his earnings to buy solar panels. Fowler is the Native American liaison for Heart of America and has installed 400 solar kits.
In addition to working with Heart of America, sponsors include SOLV Energy and Goal Zero. These companies have each pledged $10,000 in donation matches. According to the Heart of America’s website, every dollar the public or other companies donate will be doubled up to $20,000. Other fundraising partners include Fezzari Bicycles and Thule.
Fowler said he believes education is wonderful to pursue. He said when people can pursue an education, they learn and grow. Obtaining more knowledge and becoming more aware of the world can lead to finding a person’s passion in life.
For example, Fowler said he had never “bike-packed” before. He learned bike packing is traveling with everything needed for camping on one’s bike. This type of riding also travels mostly upon unpaved surfaces, whereas, bike touring focuses on paved roads. Fowler hopes to log 80 miles per day to reach his goal with his friend Josh Jorgensen, who is riding along with him.
“I’ve never bike-packed, so I had to do quite a bit of research. It’s just really opened up the world for me,” Fowler said.
He related this experience to how an education at large opens opportunities for people to become valuable assets within their community.
“However small or big, realize that you have special gifts and talents that others could benefit from,” he said. “And in some cases, you may be the only person that will ever have those. You may not realize how somebody may be grateful for you because of what you decided to learn about.”
To donate please visit the Heart of America website. Fowler is sharing his journey on Instagram@navajomylo
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