An IKEA Foundation known as Brighter Lives for Refugees will be providing a solar farm in a Syrian refugee camp in Azraq, Jordan. The joint project between IKEA and UN Refugee Agency aims to provide solar energy to refugees all over the world.
A Syrian refugee camp in Azraq, Jordan will soon be the home of a new solar farm that will meet the needs of Syrian refugees living in the Zarqa Governorate province. The Brighter Lives for Refugees campaign of IKEA and the United Nations Refugee Agency, project Syrian Refugee-21n, aims to provide solar lanterns for refugees around the globe.
These lanterns will allow boys and girls to study when the sun goes down. It will also allow refugees to continue generating income and activities after dark such as buying and selling goods, technical service provisions, and running businesses or cooperatives within the vicinity.
The Brighter Lives for Refugees campaign will be providing solar-powered street lights to permit community gatherings and socializations during night time. The third phase of the campaign is to build a six-megawatt grid-connected solar farm at the Syrian refugee camp in Azraq. This project will relieve a year's worth of energy problems that has been the normal condition of living for Syrians who fled their homes because of the war and are now living on refugee camps like Azraq's.
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Energy Adviser, Paul Quickley, stated that electricity coming from renewable energy sources like solar power can make a huge impact to Syrians in refugee camps just by switching a light on again. This feeling makes them feel more at home and a little more comfortable. He also added that without the fund coming from UNRA and IKEA's campaign for refugees, UNHCR would not have been able to develop a long term and sustainable energy solution.
With the dramatic reduction in energy expenses, this will mean that the money UNCHR will spend on energy can also be used for humanitarian campaigns. Providing solar energy to refugees not only represents a great humanitarian act, but also a remarkable role of renewable energy tech for those who are less fortunate.
