{"id":3845,"date":"2017-06-22T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2017-06-22T04:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gridalt.wpenginepowered.com\/the-current\/building-a-new-life-refugee-team-brings-solar-to-oak-park-resident\/"},"modified":"2026-09-03T12:04:17","modified_gmt":"2026-09-03T16:04:17","slug":"building-a-new-life-refugee-team-brings-solar-to-oak-park-resident","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/live-grid-wp.pantheonsite.io\/es\/the-current\/building-a-new-life-refugee-team-brings-solar-to-oak-park-resident\/","title":{"rendered":"Building a New Life: Refugee Team Brings Solar to Oak Park Resident"},"content":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s 7 a.m. in the quiet residential neighborhood of Oak Park in San Diego and on homeowner Dexter Prince\u2019s driveway, something special is just beginning. Ten young men are helping unload a van of equipment — laughing and joking in Arabic as they carefully stack solar panels against Mr. Prince\u2019s garage door.<\/em><\/p>\n

These young men are all refugees — forced to flee their home countries and now working to build a new life in the United States. They\u2019re hoping that solar will be a part of that journey and for some, today marks the first step.<\/p>\n

This team of refugees have come to GRID Alternatives via GETCHARGEDUP<\/a>, a recently-launched San Diego based nonprofit that hopes to redirect the narrative for many young Middle Eastern refugees — helping them find the training and resources they need to prosper in their new home. Co-founder Faisal El Azzouzi, himself a refugee from Lebanon was forced to flee with his family as a small child and those experiences were a catalyst for the creation of GETCHARGEDUP. \u201cBy building a compassionate coalition we will start helping refugees get on their feet, and on the roof,\u201d says El Azzouzi.<\/p>\n

This installation, which took place on World Refugee Day<\/a>, has offered participants an important glimpse into what solar installation entails. Some of the attendees will now move forward with the process of enrolling in GRID San Diego\u2019s recently launched \u2018Solar Installation Training Program\u2019 — taking part in 11 weeks of immersive training including dozens of hands on installation experiences, safety certifications and warehouse workshops.<\/p>\n

\"Three<\/p>\n

GETCHARGEDUP will add an extra layer of support to participating refugees, providing vital translation and transportation services.<\/p>\n

For homeowner Dexter Prince, seeing these ten young men working together against the odds to help him as he struggles with energy bills, as well as caring for his wife who has Alzheimer\u2019s disease, has been a deeply moving experience. \u201cI can\u2019t even imagine what many of these people have lived through,\u201d says Mr. Prince as he watches the team busily moving around his yard and passing solar panels up onto the roof.<\/p>\n

This solar system is a financial lifeline for Mr. Prince, saving him and his wife around $1000 a year. \u201cI\u2019ve known about GRID for a while and I\u2019ve seen neighbors go solar with them, I\u2019m really glad to be having this system installed today.\u201d<\/p>\n

See a full album of photos from the day.<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This installation, which took place on World Refugee Day, has offered participants an important glimpse into what solar installation entails. Some of the attendees will now move forward with the process of enrolling in GRID San Diego\u2019s recently launched \u2018Solar Installation Training Program.’<\/p>","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":3846,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[78],"tags":[],"audience":[],"content-type":[12],"focus-area":[],"region":[],"series":[],"content-author":[],"class_list":["post-3845","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-equity-community","content-type-news"],"acf":{"hero_media_type":"image","hero_media_image":null,"hero_media_url":"","hero_media_poster":null,"hero_video_play":"inline","related_stories":null,"pattern_override":null,"story_callouts":null,"media":null,"featured_blog_post":null,"featured_event":null,"pdf_download":null,"blockquote":null,"author":null,"notice":null,"social_embed":null,"contact_card":null,"meta_details":null,"faq":null,"table":null},"yoast_head":"\nBuilding a New Life: Refugee Team Brings Solar to Oak Park Resident - GRID Alternatives<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"This installation, which took place on World Refugee Day, has offered participants an important glimpse into what solar installation entails. 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