Extend the Day – Provide solar lights to the Rohingya refugees in southern Bangladesh

Extend the Day provides small inexpensive solar powered reading lights to children who live without electricity, so that they can study and succeed. You can check us out at extendtheday.org.

We just returned from a visit to the new Rohingya refugee camps in southern Bangladesh. The desperation in the camps is heartbreaking. Over 600,000, mostly women and children, are flooding to these camps to flee the terrible genocide happening by the Myanmar military to the Rohingya people. The escape requires miles of walking through jungle, and to finally cross the border, a swim across the Naf River.

The numbers are unfathomable, 0ver 60,000 orphans, over 90,000 pregnant women, and hundred of thousands of people flooding into the country in the matter of the last few months.

The violence and terrible acts happening to these people in Myanmar is sickening. The stories told are hard to even comprehend. A story told us by a 20 year old lady shares of when the military attacked her village, killing most of the men upon entering. They made her, and all the other ladies, kneel down in a line, tearing away her child and killing him in front of her, they then proceeded to gang rape her. It was very lucky that she was able to escape, as most of the other women in that village weren't able to.

They then walked miles to the river border through jungle and with the danger and very real fear of running into more military. Then the rapid current river crossing to Bangladesh is just the beginning of the struggles of their new life. Upon arriving in Bangladesh, with nothing but the clothes they might have had on when they fled, they start life over. With no ability to work, provide, or be a citizen to the new host country, the struggle is desperate.

It gets pitch black at 6 pm on the camps and even basic living becomes difficult. Something as simple as light, in these roughly built tarp shacks that they now call home, is one of the easiest problems to solve! We have a partner organization already set up and working in the camps, we can produce as many lights as needed, and we have direct and first hand experience of the deep need there. All we need now is the funding for this special one time endeavor.

Our special solar powered handheld lights cost $5 to make and there is no extra cost, as our administration costs are already covered, so all donations go directly to providing the lights!

Please help Extend the Day provide a light in this dark and desperate situation.

Thank you in advance!