Global Solar Lantern Initiative

Ro­hingy­as have of­ten been called the most per­se­cuted minor­ity in the world. Bangladesh’s Cox Baz­ar area hosts a com­munity of around 548,000 Ro­hingy­as who live in make­shift set­tle­ments where ba­sic ser­vices and in­fra­struc­ture are prac­tic­ally non-ex­ist­ent. Chil­dren grow up without form­al edu­ca­tion and most fam­il­ies have lost their tra­di­tion­al live­li­hoods. Wo­men are par­tic­u­larly vul­ner­able, as there is a high in­cid­ence of gender-based vi­ol­ence and no leg­al re­course to file a crim­in­al case.

Sol­ar lan­terns are a safe and re­li­able source of light and help res­id­ents feel more se­cure at night. IOM sup­ports the com­munity, pay­ing par­tic­u­lar at­ten­tion to the needs of the most vul­ner­able in­di­vidu­als and fam­il­ies, in­clud­ing wid­owed wo­men and single moth­ers, the eld­erly, dis­abled people, and fam­il­ies with no in­come earn­ing mem­bers.