Lighting the lives of 46,000 Rohingya families

Signify, the world leader in lighting and BRAC are distributing Philips LifeLight solar lanterns to more than 45,000 Rohingya families in Bangladesh.

The solar lanterns will significantly improve the living conditions in the refugees’ makeshift shelters and especially improve the safety and security of women and children at night. So far, they have distributed products for over 24,000 Rohingya families, reaching 132,720 individuals, of which 66,360 are children.

“Lighting is a key enabler to create safer spaces. Especially in refugee camps where women and children are vulnerable to exploitation and abuse, lighting can make a real difference. Our continued collaboration with BRAC leverages the strengths and resources of both organizations to deliver interventions like these,” said Prajna Khanna, Director at the Signify Foundation.

Previously the camps have been pitch black at night, making basic activities almost impossible. On top of that there were immediate concerns about the safety and security of women and children, in their shelters, moving around the camps and going to the toilet at night. The shelters desperately needed lighting to increase security and support their basic needs.

“These clean solar powered lights will make the camps a much safer place at night, and are, therefore, making a much-needed contribution to the lives of people who are spending days in unimaginable difficulties. We hope this partnership with an organization like Signify will be another step towards making lasting impact,” said Asif Saleh, Senior Director, Strategy, Communication and Empowerment at BRAC and BRAC International.

“At Signify, our ambition is to create safer spaces for communities. We are honored that we’re able to support this noble cause by donating our solar-powered LifeLight Lanterns to Rohingya families living in Cox’s Bazar,” said Padmanava Gupta, Managing Director at Signify’s operations in Bangladesh.

BRAC will distribute the solar lamps through its network of offices, seed and agricultural staff and community health workers. It will provide detailed training on care and maintenance and how to get replacements under warranty. Each lamp will be accompanied by an instruction and information sheet in the Rakhine language and script. BRAC will also work with local solar companies and local companies in the Cox’s Bazar area to install and maintain the LifeLight Home systems. These companies will be trained on the specific Philips-branded products and will provide technical support.

Signify became the new company name of Philips Lighting as of May 16, 2018. The legal name of Signify will be adapted in Bangladesh in the beginning of 2019.