January 2009 Archives

SolarAid Tanzania's office in Dar es Salaam is now home to a rural solar village...painting!

A local Tinga Tinga (Tanzanian style) artist has produced a village scene where solar power provides the village's electricity needs.

The painting was reproduced with the artist's permission

Have a close look at this wonderful and intricate painting. Among traditional village activities you can see people using microsolar to play their radios, macrosolar servicing a clinic and school, a solar-powered water pump and local business people using solar to make money by charging mobile phones. It's great to see what solar can do for a village!

If you feel as inspired by the work SolarAid is doing as this local Tanzanian artist was, then please support us today.

Thank you!

Last month, during my recent trip to the region, the first SolarAid Tanzania solar system was installed on the Igoda Primary School. The Headmaster led a lighting ceremony with singing, dancing and speeches by all the senior members of the community.

Igoda Primary School
The school is in a remote region of the Tanzanian highlands. Sitting at 2,000 feet above sea level, it serves a rural community with over 500 children attending daily. Sadly, many of these children have been touched by HIV and AIDS. The school has over 200 children who have either lost one or both parents. Being far away from the grid, the school had no access to electricity.

Solar for children
The 150 watt system was installed on the roof by two contractors from a Tanzania solar company. The system will provide power for 13 lights spread across the classrooms and the Headmasters Office. The light will be used by the children to do their homework after school and for teachers to do their work.

Some of the children of Igoda Primary School

Sustainability
With the support of a SolarAid volunteer, the school has developed an ambitious income-generating strategy. Before the solar system, the 6000 mobile phone owners in the area walked 30 minutes or more to charge their mobile phone! When not used for lighting, the system will be able to charge 15 mobile phones. Each charge will earn the school 500Ksh (25p). This means that soon they will have paid back the 10% to SolarAid and will start generating income to save for maintenance.

A solar future?
Already the Community Chairman and Headmaster know that they want a larger solar system and one that can provide light for the houses of the teachers. We talked about how this could be possible with the money generated from charging mobile phones.

There is a community centre is being built next to the school- where all local meetings and elections will take place. Perhaps they too will look to solar, once they see how the power of the sun can have such a positive impact.

Celebration. A song of thanks from the children and teachers of Igoda Primary School.

During the opening ceremony at the school, the teachers and children sang a song "asante" meaning thank you. Thank you for your support.

Igoda is just one of the 2,500 schools in Tanzania, with your help we can reach even more. Please support us.

Thank you,
Ruth

The surrounding area at Luhunga Secondary School, in the Southern Highlands of Tanzania, bathed in sunshine.

The meeting I had with the headmaster of Luhunga highlights that a large market exists for income generating businesses that can leverage solar energy.

I am very excited to see how the SolarAid installation in Luhunga and the nearby Igoda School can transform the schools and their surrounding community.

Additionally, even if the solar system that we install will not have enough facilities and power to meet the £5000 phone charging market demand of the village, the capturing of a small fraction of that market will generate sufficient income for the schools to maintain the solar system.

The £5000 market size for phone charging in Luhunga village will provide incentive for other businesses to consider solar as an attractive income generating investment.

And the savings on kerosene spending and the overall positive impact of reduced kerosene burning on both students' health and the environment are also extremely important factors to consider.

As a charity, SolarAid is in a position to provide a much needed gift to Tanzanian schools. And with solar power, the gift of sunshine is a gift that keeps on giving!

Irna with the Headmaster and his daughter in front of Luhunga Secondary School.