“...politics failed us, so we decided to bring the solutions ourselves...” |
On April 22, kosak mosesfreeman brought a terrific new TEDTalk video by Majd Mashharawi to Morning Open Thread. I haven’t found diaries on this brilliant Palestinian could-be-game-changing innovator of tech —and ideas— that a lot of struggling people around the world need and could really use. So far, it seems, no wikipedia page for her yet. So this is to take the next little step after mosesfreeman.
Majd earned her engineering degree at the Islamic University of Gaza in a one-to-six female to male student ratio. She wasn’t in the least deterred! First some videos, then maybe exerpts from an article or two...
Here’s the TEDWomen talk, which includes footage shot on-site in Gaza —
“… this is not only a building block [out of ashes and rubble]; it can change the stereotype about women in Gaza [that] this type of work is meant for men. Education is the strongest weapon* we have, to fight for our freedom, decent life, and future...” |
“...politics failed us, so we decided to bring the solutions ourselves...”
Metaphor alert: this construction material is lighter, less expensive, and stronger!
* cf Arafat widely quoted:
“The womb of the Arab woman is my strongest weapon.”
Here’s more about Majd and GreenCake, from bbc:
Next below is her intro video for the Sunbox smart solar electricity generation kit, resourced from China, tailored for Gaza specs, and training local technicians to sell, install, and provide customer service — a micro-industry. Each unit is priced roughly $400, and supplies energy for a range of appliances besides for light. Sunbox is
“a hybrid company with profit and non-profit arms that offers off-grid and on-grid solar systems for families suffering from electricity shortage.” |
The first fifteen units went free as feasibility demonstrations, including in a refugee camp where the spontaneous response prompted the Sunbox business model, Sharing Is Caring, by which 2 and 3 families for mutual benefit can together shoulder what might be a major outlay even at nonprofit acquisition level.
In just two weeks, the company was able to provide over 200 Gazans with electricity.
From a February 2018 alaraby.co.uk… article:
“...the entire Middle East suffers from a lack of sufficient electricity," Mashharawi says. "This severely affects both quality of life and opportunity for economic growth. But the region has a resource that can be harnessed - an average of 320 days of sunshine a year, making solar energy an ideal source of electricity production."
Mashharawi researched solar options in use in Africa and India, where electricity blackouts are also common. However, she ended up turning to China for the most applicable solution [modifiable] to accommodate local electrical outlets and voltage [in] the Gaza Strip, with its populaton of nearly two million.
… The kit generates 1,000 watts of electricity - enough to power four lamps, two laptops, two phones, an internet router and a TV/fan/small refrigerator for a full day, before needing a "refresh" - using either the sun or the electrical grid, when available.
[Mashharawi hopes to expand her company’s operations] into other markets - West Bank refugee camps, Syrians in Jordan and off-grid Bedouin communities throughout the Middle East - perhaps the largest of the populations, at an estimated 3.2 million.
[She] attributes her entrepreneurial spirit to her 11th-grade mathematics teacher. "He forced us to find a way to solve math assignments on our own - rather than simply memorising the formulas. It was the first and most difficult challenge of my life," she recalls.
This led Mashharawi to spend her entire, three-month summer holiday figuring out the "why" behind the answers so she could compile a booklet to distribute to other students. Mashharawi considers that her first startup...
"I know very well that the world around us is advancing, while our lives in Gaza are frozen," she says. "But instead of wasting time complaining about how bad our situation is, I prefer to seek solutions for problems."
…Mashharawi [has traveled] to the United States. For three months, she studied entrepreneurship and business administration, then returned to Gaza.
"I would have been able to stay in the United States, but honestly, I wanted to come back," says Mashharawi. "In Gaza, every day there is some new challenge, which makes it a lot more interesting. Outside of Gaza, you live for yourself only; in Gaza, I feel like I have a larger mission that can really benefit people."
Karama Fadel is a Gaza-based writer for We Are Not Numbers.
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In her TEDtalk, she explained to the mostly-American audience,
“What you have, and take for granted, is privilege to others.”
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Photos and articles on/of Majd, colleagues, and friends at the MENA Catalyst Foundation website, and here at buildpalestine.com, and here at globalconstructionreview including a wonderful one of all the women in the Japan Gaza Innovation Challenge and HERE’s the article about that!
Commenters please do post more videos and article links of Majd.
I’ve covered two of her achievements. The diary title mentioned three. So commenters, please read my thoughts —and bring your own, too— about what her 3rd/other innovation[s] are/might be! ;)
The family of our family is our family.
Ramadan mubarak.