Umeme Rahisi!

John and I went to the village of Manzese yesterday. It's one of the poorest areas greater Dar es Salaam, with one of the highest densities of HIV infection in the country. Here, one can hire a teenage prostitute for about Tsh1000, that's less than one US dollar.

Amidst the bustle of the village, SolarAid conducted training on how to assemble solar panels using basic ingredients where the heavy components such as the wooden frames are sourced in Africa.

There were Tanzanians from all walks of life, from a young mattress entrepreneur with two children to a bachelor farmer who came all the way from the village to learn about solar energy.

The group was super-excited about solar and its potential in Africa.

One visionary attendee noted, "I want to know how to make the panel, use the panel, and then sell the panel." I think, in that short statement, he summarised the way many Tanzanians (especially the visionary ones) like to work. They want to understand how something works from inside out, as if wanting to understand the system as a whole, before fully embracing its parts. It can be a frustrating quality for some who want others to embrace their ideas immediately. But I was proud of this guy for wanting to know how parts fit into the whole, before jumping into a new initiative. Phrases like that reminded me of the hope that remains alive in this country.

Have a look at the picture below of the group testing their panel in the sun. It was a delight watching their eyes glow with amazement as they watched how the sun can cause the radio to blare music from Madonna (yes, Madonna was on the radio at that very moment!).

Testing the panel with a radio

Here's the group showing off their panel and screaming "Umeme Rahisi!" which means "cheap, easy power!". As you can see, the joy and pride was genuine.

"Umeme Rahisi!" ('Cheap, easy power')

More from me soon!

Irna