Shedding Light

Have you ever experienced life in complete darkness? People who are blind experience this every day, but for most of us, if our lights somehow go out, we struggle to move around our homes in the dark and look to candles or flashlights to help us “see” until the light is restored. Now imagine life at night in a refugee camp where there is no light, once the sun has set, most camps have no light, nothing to help guide people to the toilets except perhaps moon light if they are lucky. Children must stop homework, writing assignments or simply studying as they cannot see. Women must cook in the dark or not at all.

With light, we bring hope, aid safety, and contribute to healthier, happier lifestyles. Harsham refugee camp located near Erbil, Iraqi Kurdistan is home to more than 300 families who fled their homes. Some from Sinjar, others from Syria, and still others from war afflicted areas inside Iraq. In the absence of mains electricity, the sun remains a precious resource, providing the means to generate solar light. On 15 May 2018 Bring Hope Humanitarian Foundation distributed 300 solar lights (charger and light) to the families whose lives will now be brightened.

Solar light increases so many possibilities for those living in the refugee camps from extending learning time, to cooking, working, socializing, and feeling safe while walking about and using the facilities.

Mohammed lives within the refugee camp, he is the father of eight children. He fled with his family from Sinjar and has been living here ever since. He told Bring Hope, “…my children are students, they need light to do their homework. My wife will be so happy she can see while cooking Suhoor in the middle of the night during Ramadan. This solar light is a lifesaver, thank you for this Wakawaka light.”

Bring Hope is lucky to have received these solar “wakawaka” lights for distribution to those in refugee camps so we are able to shed some light and bring hope. To see how you can help, go to bringhope.info.