A nonprofit organization ‘Unite to Light’ founded by John Bowers will ship 9,000 solar lights to Bangladesh for Rohingya refugees which will prioritize midwives, pregnant women and new mothers. The move is a joint effort with RTM International, a Bangladesh-based NGO, and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA).
Unite to Light itself is donating an additional 1,000 through its “buy one, give one” program, and direct donations. RTM purchased the first 8,000 solar lights for the Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh.
Executive Director of Unite to Light Megan Birney said, “Unite to Light is focused on getting light to those who could not otherwise afford it: children learning to read and study after dark, midwives and health clinics and disaster response. Supplying solar lights to midwives, refugees and new mothers falls squarely into our mission of providing tools for those in need so that they may have a better opportunity to survive and thrive.”
He further said, “What I took for granted before I worked at Unite to Light was the extent to which a person’s life stops when the sun goes down, if they don’t have access to light. This is especially true for vulnerable populations: women, children, elderly. When the sun goes down, their day ends. A simple solar light changes all that. They now have hours of extra time to do homework, fetch water, visit with family or make dinner.”
On receiving a Clean Delivery Kit including a solar, Sabekun told a midwife, “I felt so afraid and uncertain this morning, but now I feel more at peace. I feel reassured, I’m glad I came.”
Bangladesh midwife Tania Akter, who is working in the refugee camps affirmed, “Solar lights have been translated into smiles over the faces of the refugees.”
By the close of 2017, Unite to Light in total will have shipped 21,000 solar lamps this year. The organization since its founding in 2011 has distributed over 90,000 lights to 65 countries, including Ghana, South Africa, Haiti and Peru.
More recently, a U.S. territory Puerto Rico which was devastated by Hurricane Maria in September and is still largely without power, received 1,550 solar lights shortly after the disaster by Unite to Light. They’ll send another 1,000 by the end of December.
The group’s Puerto Rico outreach is being done in partnership with Direct Relief, which supplies 62 community clinics across the island. The lights are being distributed throughout those clinics, going to medical staff and patients, in communities that remain without electricity.
