Building Modular Shelters for Refugee Camps • Bushra Bataineh

(Founder and CEO, MAWA Modular | PhD in Civil & Environmental Engineering, Stanford University || CA USA)

“I was born and raised in Jordan, but came to the US for university. During my studies, I realized I really enjoyed building things. As part of my PhD in Sustainable Design and Construction, I took an entrepreneurship class where I looked at living conditions in refugee camps. There were early signs that a massive refugee crisis was coming, although we did not expect it to be the biggest one ever. I witnessed the crisis firsthand when I visited refugee camps in Jordan. With 80,000 people, they’re starting to look more like cities. More people are fleeing to camps and staying longer — the average stay of refugees is now 17 years since paths for resettlement don’t really exist anymore. Temporary shelter is no longer suitable for the growing needs of refugee families.

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I began designing longer-term shelter options that are easy to assemble and disassemble. My team and I have built several product prototypes of modular kits that allow for easy shipping, and can be expanded as family needs change. We are now moving out of the prototyping stage and into the testing stage — I am actively meeting with manufacturers in Jordan to build the modules.

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Throughout the project I have worked with many amazing people — construction engineers, materials scientists, solar engineers, remote sensing experts, product designers, and empathy researchers. The majority of these people volunteered their time because they believe in the impact of the work. They went into science and engineering to solve the problems humanity faces. At the core of STEM is the desire to solve problems. What I think is really exciting is that you can pick which ones you want to solve.”