As refugees resettle in San Diego after fleeing Syria and other Middle Eastern countries, they are seizing an opportunity to contribute to their new San Diego community by helping low-income families.

A group of 10 refugees volunteered as rooftop solar installers in honor of World Refugee Day, on Tuesday, June 20.

They gathered under the hot sun at the home of a low-income family in East County to install a no-cost solar panel system that will help the family make ends meet.

This rooftop installation offers a glimpse into the lives of refugees who are eager to give back to their new community, making San Diego a more equitable place for everyone.

These 10 refugees are volunteering with GRID Alternatives San Diego’s program to help low-income families with burdensome energy bills to lower their cost of living and carbon footprint.

Each of the families helped with the program, save more than $100 on their monthly energy bill and will save several thousands of dollars on the next 25 years.

More than a hundred families are helped each year with the program. And at the same time, refugees learn about the solar panel installation process to make them job ready in the renewable energy field.

“We help refugees that are resettling in the San Diego area to get them job training and we partner with nonprofits like GRID Alternatives that help low-income families. It’s a win-win situation. The first couple of installations are about getting the refugees their first exposure in this field, but we will be selecting a few of them to go through a paid training program,” said Faisal El Azzouzi, founder of Get Charged Up, the non-profit that coordinated the cost-free solar panel installation.

“These refugees are very excited and happy to be part of this program. They are new to this country, the culture and the language. And they are also new to solar energy because it’s a cutting-edge industry, so they are fascinating by the fact that they can convert sunlight into electricity,” he added.

One of the Syrian refugees who volunteered for the program was Adam Jalahej, who came to the United States nine months ago fleeing Syria.

“When the war first started in Syria, my family moved to Jordan. There I studied high school and a little bit of college. Then the United Nations called us to come here to the United States. I was studying Interior Design, so the solar panel installations feel connected to my interests,” Jalahej said to La Prensa San Diego. “I feel happy that I’m with my friends and meeting new people. These are good people that are teaching me about solar panel installations and I like it because is a new way to save the planet.”