By donating its solar lanterns to the refugees’ shelters in Bangladesh, Signify has helped to enhance the living conditions for more than 22,000 families so far.

Signify Foundation worked with BRAC, a non-governmental organization based in Bangladesh, for a project to distribute its Philips LifeLight solar lanterns to more than 46,000 Rohingya families who have been sheltering in Bangladesh since August 2017.

Beside the distribution of the solar lamps, BRAC also provides training for care and maintenance of the products. Each lamp will be accompanied by an instruction and information sheet in the language spoken by the refugees and script. BRAC will also work with local solar companies and local companies in the Cox’s Bazar area to install and maintain the LifeLight Home systems.

The purpose of the project is to improve the safety of refugee camps especially for women and children. According to Signify, the camps have been dark at night previously, making it difficult to move around or to practice basic activities. The darkness also made women and children vulnerable to exploitation and abuse in refugee camps. Therefore, the shelters needed lighting to increase security and support their basic needs.

(Image: Signify)

Asif Saleh, Senior Director of Strategy, Communication and Empowerment at BRAC and BRAC International, said,“These clean solar powered lights will make the camps a much safer place at night, and are, therefore, making a much-needed contribution to the lives of people who are spending days in unimaginable difficulties. We hope this partnership with an organization like Signify will be another step towards making lasting impact.”

“At Signify, our ambition is to create safer spaces for communities. We are honored that we’re able to support this noble cause by donating our solar-powered LifeLight Lanterns to Rohingya families living in Cox’s Bazar,” said Padmanava Gupta, Managing Director at Signify’s operations in Bangladesh.

Signify reported its share repurchase update that the company has bought 386,001 shares during July 30 to August 3, 2018. The shares were repurchased at an average price of EUR 23.57 per share and an aggregate amount of EUR 9.1 million. These repurchases were made as part of the company's repurchase program for reducing the capital of the company as announced on July 30, 2018.