ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The Kurdistan Region-based Rwanga Foundation has unveiled its fifth off-grid solar-powered village northeast of Erbil, the non-profit's director told Rudaw Wednesday, as locals said they now receive 24-hour electricity, after having endured power shortages and costly private generators for years.
“We did not have a life before, it felt as if we were always in the dark,” said Badriya Fattah, a local from the village of Ziyarat, located northwest of Shaqlawa district. “If we had electricity at night, we didn't have it during the day, and vice versa,” she told Rudaw's Horvan Rafaat.
Rasul Abdullah, another local, said, “We have found peace,” adding, “I would pray for better electricity services a hundred times [a day]. Thank God, we are not without electricity anymore.”
Meanwhile, Assad Hassan expressed happiness, lauding Rwanga Foundation Chairman Idris Nechirvan Barzani, whose organization spearheaded the project.
“A hundred people are saying, 'bless his [Barzani's] parents.' It means so much to us,” Hassan said, hoping the project would expand to include other villages.
Ridding locals of power outages and the cost and noise of private generators, the solar-powered effort provides round-the-clock power services for free and has a total supply capacity of 1,500 amperes, providing around 100 households with 15 amperes each.
“The motive behind this effort is to implement the vision of Idris Nechirvan Barzani, who has always guided the organization toward breakthrough projects that have a lasting impact. He had tasked Rwanga with carrying out such efforts because they serve the community at large,” said Hassan Sheikh Aladin, executive director of Rwanga Foundation.
The initiative in Ziyarat is the fifth of its kind unveiled since mid-2025, with similar projects implemented in the villages of Gre Bie, Kulak, Qamish, and Sheikh Wasan, targeting underserved communities on the outskirts of the Kurdistan Region's capital, Erbil.
Aladin told Rudaw, however, that the project is part of a long-term vision for sustainable development and will expand to include more villages in the future.
The Rwanga Foundation is a Kurdistan Region-based nonprofit organization that focuses on education, youth development, environmental sustainability, and community support. Established in 2013, the foundation implements projects across the Kurdistan Region and Iraq, including initiatives related to renewable energy, climate action, entrepreneurship, and humanitarian assistance.
