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When a solar lantern is a beacon of safety
un articulo por Anna Kramer, Oxfam America (abridged)
Life in a camp for displaced people can be risky for women and
girls. But a simple piece of technology provides a measure of
protection after dark. 
Mary, who lives in a camp in Malakal, South Sudan, shows how she charges her solar lantern from Oxfam during daylight hours. Photo: Travis Warrington/Oxfam
click on photo to enlarge
Life in a camp for displaced people can be risky for women and
girls. But a simple piece of technology provides a measure of
protection after dark.
Imagine walking through a field in darkness. You’re surrounded by
tents that house thousands of strangers. As you pick your way
down a muddy, unlit path, it’s hard to tell who is nearby. All you
can hear are voices—not all of them friendly.
For families living in camps for displaced people in South Sudan,
risky journeys like this are a part of daily life. More than 1.7 million
South Sudanese have fled their homes in search of safety following
the violence that erupted in December 2013. But in the crowded
settlements that have sprung up around the country, safety is by no
means guaranteed.
“It is too much. [Men] attack us at the place of the toilets or at night
where we collect water,” said Julie Francis, a widowed mother of
four who described incidents of harassment, and worse, in a camp
in Malakal, South Sudan. . . .
Though there are no simple solutions to this problem, Oxfam
sought to make a difference for some women in Malakal through
the distribution of solar-powered lanterns. With support from the
UN’s Common Humanitarian Fund, Oxfam distributed 6,400 of
these lanterns, providing a source of light for 20,230 people.
Charged during the day via small solar panels, at night the hand-
held lamps provide illumination, visibility, and a measure of
protection.
Mary lives in a camp in Malakal. She told Oxfam in August that she
uses the lantern every night, and that the other two women in her
household of eight people also use it frequently. The women take
the lantern with them when they walk to the shower or latrines after
dark, she explained, because it makes them feel safer.
“The lamp is helping us. We are very happy to use it at night,” she
said.
Like the fuel-efficient stoves distributed by Oxfam and other aid
groups, the lanterns are designed to be useful and functional in
places where people have few resources at hand. Temporary
settlements are rarely connected to a national power grid, so solar
energy is a cheaper, safer, and environmentally friendly alternative
to generators or kerosene lamps.
For example, in Zaatari camp in Jordan—home to about 80,000
refugees from the conflict in Syria— Oxfam engineers installed
solar-powered streetlights outside of toilets, showers, and laundry
facilities, making it safer for families and kids to use these essential
facilities at night. . .
And solar energy is just one component of Oxfam’s larger
emergency response in South Sudan, which includes providing clean
water, improving sanitation, and distributing food and other urgent
relief items to families in need.
Your support can make an immediate impact; for example, each
solar lantern costs about $40. Donate now to help support families in South Sudan.
[Thank you to Janet Hudgins, the CPNN reporter for this article.]
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North-South solidarity, what are some good examples?
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