Project that won Zayed prize brings light to lives of Rohingya refugees
Rohingya families sheltering in a Bangladesh refugee camp have known only darkness for years, but now have the chance to step into the light thanks to a UAE-backed initiative.
In August 2017, hundreds of thousands of the Muslim-minority group were forced to flee their homes in Myanmar.
Displaced Rohingya sought sanctuary across the border in Bangladesh, with large numbers settling in Cox’s Bazar, in the south of the country.
However, because of a lack of street lights at the camp, many women found themselves vulnerable to abuse and attacks when stepping outside their tents at night.
Since March, dozens of solar street lamps have been installed in the camp by Sunna Design, a French company that was among the winners at last year’s Zayed Sustainability Prize, an international award to inspire renewable energy projects in the name of Sheikh Zayed, the Founding Father.
“There was pitch dark; no light in the street at all,” said Thomas Samuel, founder and president of Sunna Design.
“The darkness was mostly affecting security at the camp. It was very hard for people to go out at night, especially women.
“In Bangladesh the sun sets at about 6pm, and it is something that we living in developed countries have forgotten to be concerned about. But where there is no street lighting, the feeling of security is gone.”
Sunna Design collaborated with the Electricians Without Borders NGO to launch the project, which is called Light for the Rohingyas.
Seventy-five lampposts were used to light the camp’s streets for 8,000 people.
“Our strategy was to finance the pilot to demonstrate the impact and benefits for people in strategic places, and we are hoping that other parties will step in and continue [the project],” Mr Samuel said.
A dozen Rohingya refugees, with another 12 Bangladeshi locals living near the camp, were trained to install, maintain and repair the lampposts.
“When they install the lamps themselves, they know where to put them and will be able to take care of them,” Mr Samuel said.
Providing this technical training for the refugees also gives them the opportunity to earn their living this way in the future.
Mr Samuel said his company avoided hiring a foreign or local business to do it, because the refugees themselves could be paid to do the essential work.
Comparable projects at other refugee camps over the past two years have applied the same model.
Sunna Design has contributed to other projects in refugee camps around the world, including in Cameroon, Kenya, Rwanda, Jordan and Senegal.
Before winning the Zayed Sustainability Prize, Sunna Design provided the solar street lights as a business.
“We were paid by the client, but after winning the [Zayed] prize we have the means to donate the lights,” Mr Samuel said.
Sunna Design donated eight of the 75 lampposts provided to Light for the Rohingyas.
Electricians Without Borders have also been nominated for the latest Zayed Sustainability Prize, the results of which will be announced in January.