Solar streetlights help brighten remote towns in Ethiopia’s Somali region
Solar streetlights help brighten remote towns in Ethiopia’s Somali region
Refugee men walk through Mirqaan twon, a remote town in southeast Ethiopia, where UNHCR is setting up solar lighting to better protect refugees and the host community.
UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, donated yesterday 75 solar-powered streetlights to Mirqaan, a remote town nestled in the east of the Somali region of Ethiopia, currently hosting close to 100,000 refugees from Somalia. The donation will bring light to the area where thousands of refugees found shelter after fleeing violence at home.
With the support of local authorities and partners, UNHCR installed 65 solar streetlights in the Mirqaan refugee settlement, ten were set up in poorly lit locations inside the main town, and ten will be installed in Bokh.
“This donation will benefit both the refugees and the communities who have generously welcomed them,” said Hugues Bissot, UNHCR’s Emergency Coordinator during the handover ceremony. “It will contribute to enhancing the protection and social cohesion of all people living in and around Mirqaan, in the spirit of the Global Compact on Refugees”, Mr. Bissot added.
Since February, violence in Somalia’s Lascaanood city displaced thousands of people. Nearly 100,000 refugees sought safety in the Somali region of Ethiopia – many of them received by Ethiopian families. Others who still remain in overcrowded shelters, or are sleeping outdoors, are being progressively relocated to the Mirqaan settlement, located in a land generously allocated by the Ethiopian Government.
“We celebrate this donation which contributes greatly to bringing light to our town. We reiterate our support to refugees and appreciate the contributions to local communities,” said Abdinur Hasan Diged, Chairman of the Mirqaan Kebele.
This donation is part of the support provided by UNHCR and partners to communities hosting the newly arrived Somali refugees in the Doolo zone. Yet, scarce resources seriously hamper the capacity to respond to critical needs and gaps in the areas of water and sanitation (WASH), education and health.
On 22 March, UNHCR and humanitarian partners launched a USD116 million appeal to be able to provide immediate assistance to refugees in need and to the communities that received them. More support is vital now.
For more information please contact:
Neven Crvenkovic, UNHCR/Addis Ababa, [email protected], +251 948 053 450
