Nadine left her hometown of Dera’a, Syria with her husband Mohanad in 2013. The day they left was the hardest of their lives.
“I arrived bringing only my soul and my childhood memories,” Nadine said describing her first moments arriving in the Za’atari Refugee Camp. “When I first saw the tents, I felt like my life had stopped.”
That was nearly five years ago. Today, Nadine and her husband are on our core team of visionary leaders at our Youth Center in Za’atari Refugee Camp in Jordan. Nadine is a true Changemaker, and, in turn, we wanted to help her and Mohanad out with a basic, but important need.
Most of the caravans in the camp aren’t equipped with electricity. This means they don’t have any light after dark, can’t plug in a fan to cool down in the hot summers, or keep food and drink fresh.
“I always thought of electricity as a basic need,” said Nadine, “but we don’t have it in the camp because it’s expensive and difficult to connect.”
But we had an idea! Solar power is an inexpensive and innovative method of power that has just started to be used within refugee camps. We were able to set up their home with a small panel, and power up their home.
“This will definitely make our life easier,” said Nadine. “We’ll have cold water, I’ll be able to keep our medications close by, and we can plug in a fan to cool down. This is going to make all the difference.”
