With the generosity of over 600 Radio 4 listeners we raised £32,972 and have now distributed 5760 solar cookers in Farchana refugee camp
In July 2012 Stefan Gates, food writer and TV presenter of Food Factory, made a Radio 4 Appeal on behalf of the peacebuilding charity Cord who were asking for donations for their project supplying solar cookers to refugees in Chad. We heard back from Cord about the impact of the appeal…
In our Radio 4 Appeal we shared the story of Housna Suleiman a refugee with seven children who fled from the violence in Darfur along with over 250,000 of her countrymen and now lives in a refugee camp in rural Chad.
We told you how refugee women were at risk of rape, violent attack and conflict with the local Chadians as they went in search for the precious resource of firewood to cook food for their family.
Cord worked with the refugee communities to introduce solar cooker technology into the refugee camps to support the most vulnerable women and families. By harnessing the power of the sun to cook food using simple technology it freed up women and young girls from spending up to 10 hours several times each week collecting firewood. This enables them to go to school and access educational opportunities which were previously denied to them.
With the generosity of over 600 Radio 4 listeners we raised £32,972 and have now distributed 5760 solar cookers in Farchana refugee camp. We have reviewed the project recently and can report
- increased levels of school enrolment and achievement particularly for girls
- reduced levels of rape and violent attack on women and girls
- reduction in both time and consumption of firewood
- increased empowerment of women
This heartwarming quote comes from Andy a peaceworker who is evaluating the solar cooker project in Farchana:
Over the past week since I have been here in Chad, I have lost count of the number of refugee women I have seen walking along the road heavy laden with water. This is just one small example amongst many of what makes life living here difficult.
Today we met with a group of school girls aged between 17-18 years old. As with other groups, the girls spoke of how the solar cooker has helped to reduce their need to leave the camp to collect firewood, however they also spoke of the joy that they feel when they return to their homes after classes and their food is ready thanks to the solar cooker.
Anything that contributes some joy (no matter how small it may seem) back into the conflict impacted lives of the Darfurian refugees here in Chad is a very welcome thing in my book.