As the humanitarian and energy crisis intensifies inside Gaza, a grassroots project led by young Palestinian writers from We Are Not Numbers (WANN) is bringing light and life back to displaced residents by installing emergency solar kits as part of the Repower Gaza initiative.
The project has so far raised US $35,000 of its $50,000 target and has been supported through donations from across the world, with generous donations from Singapore as well as Australia, the U.S., and Canada.
Since October, Israel’s ongoing bombardment of Gaza has destroyed over 70% of all infrastructure, including rooftop solar and power stations. Fuel supplies have been cut and residents lack consistent access to food, water, and electricity.
Having access to power from the solar kits is critical to enable writers from WANN to continue to document and report on the reality on the ground in Gaza to the outside world.
“The project was initiated in response to the dire circumstances faced by displaced individuals in the Gaza Strip,” said Walaa Sabah, WANN project manager.
“It followed consultations with WANN volunteers regarding their most pressing needs. They unanimously emphasized that solar panels are as important as food and water, and from there, we started.”
The provision of solar kits has also assisted in restoring essential medical services for some displaced families.
Pharmacist Rawan Sabah, the only provider of medical support to patients in her displacement camp, was one of the early recipients of the project’s solar kits. She emphasized the critical need to restore power to Gaza to support the provision of medical care in the displacement camps. She stated, ‘This project has allowed me to provide treatment to displaced families in Al-Mawasi Displacement Camp, including by powering life-saving equipment like nebulizers which allow the safe supply of medication to babies.”
“The timing of the solar project couldn’t have been more crucial,” said Abdallah Aljazzar, a young writer and volunteer coordinating delivery of the project in Gaza.
“Our displaced writers in Rafah have been attempting to cover Israel’s genocide and get our voices out to the world but have become increasingly desperate as conditions on the ground worsen. The Repower Gaza project offers a beam of hope amid our struggles.
“Now with access to solar and battery kits, the hours we spent searching for electricity sources are freed up for more urgent tasks, bringing us much-needed relief.”
Since launching in Feb. 2023, the Repower Gaza project has raised enough funds to launch the first phase of solar installations. Fifty kits including solar panels and batteries are being delivered to WANN writers and their neighbors across Gaza, enough to power mobile phones and provide light for a few hours each day to small “neighborhoods” in the camps.
Israel’s blockade on aid restricts the entry of solar equipment, so kits have been assembled using only equipment already available inside Gaza, with support for installation offered by local technicians. Each kit generates enough power to light five rooms and power up to 20 mobile phones daily.
Photographs of the first phase of the solar project installation can be accessed here.
Comment: Palestinian writers from We are Not Numbers are available for interview and updates about the Repower Gaza project by contacting Walaa Sabah: walaa@wearenotnumbers.org
About Repower Gaza: The project is an initiative of volunteers and writers from We Are Not Numbers, and it is supported by the Middle East Children’s Alliance, a registered US nonprofit organization. All funds raised go directly to the purchase of solar kit componentry inside Gaza, to be deployed by trained solar technicians.
The mission of We Are Not Numbers is to train and support a new generation of Palestinian writers, share their powerful narratives, and bring wider understanding to the Palestinian liberation cause.
