Given Mwale is 14 years old and lives in Chipungu Village, Zambia, with his parents and six siblings. In the Mwale family, big dreams are encouraged and passed from one generation to the next. Given’s mother, Fridah, once dreamed of becoming a police officer, while his father, Stephen, hoped to become a pilot. Today, Given dreams of becoming president of Zambia, while his siblings aspire to become a technician and a mechanic.
Given Mwale poses for a portrait picture with a smile as he shares his dream of becoming a president one day. Chipungu Village, Zambia. Photo: SolarAid/Jason J Mulikita
Following in the footsteps of his father, Given is interested in politics and dreams big:
“When I finish school, I want to be president of this country Zambia… I want to be a politician so that I can make people happy, so that people can be with peace in our country, that’s all.”
Stephen Mwale, his wife Fridah and their two sons Given and Lucky, at their home in Chipungu Village, Zambia. Photo: SolarAid/Jason J Mulikita
The Mwale family lives in a serene, quiet and green area surrounded by maize fields and trees. But after dark, everything changes. Given’s mother, Fridah, explains:
“When it gets dark and you are walking, you may start imagining or thinking there’s something coming in front of you just because it gets pitch-black. The journey to my home without reliable lighting gets sad and scary.”
Fridah has personally experienced the dangers that can come with a lack of safe lighting. Years ago, a fire broke out at her mother’s house after burning straw accidentally set a curtain alight. Thankfully, no one was hurt, but the fire destroyed the entire house.
“That experience made it painfully clear to me how dangerous and devastating the lack of safe, reliable lighting can be.”
Like many children living in rural Zambia, Given faces another challenge caused by a lack of reliable electricity: studying after dark.
“It’s hard to study in the evening because of light. Here in rural areas, we don’t have access to light or network. That is the challenge we are facing.”
Given Mwale studying at home in the night using a small torch as the only source of safe lighting to study. Given dreams of becoming the president of Zambia one day. Chipungu village, Zambia. Photo: SolarAid/Jason J Mulikita
Given’s father, Stephen, sees first-hand how the lack of reliable lighting affects his children’s education.
“For my school going children, the issue of not having access to reliable lighting at home is a challenge. So, they usually go to study from school where there is some solar light. My only worry is their safety as they come back from studying in school at night. My heart gets troubled because if I had a reliable source of lighting, they would be studying from home, especially for the one who is in an exam year.”
Given Mwale in class learning at Ndubulula School in Zambia. Photo: SolarAid/Jason J Mulikita
Change is now coming to the Mwale family and the wider Namanongo community. SolarAid is currently setting up a new Energy-as-a-Service pilot in the area, aiming to connect all 1,382 households in this remote community, where homes are spread far apart and access is difficult.
Passionate about education and especially fond of English, Given hopes reliable lighting will give him more time to study and learn.
“It can be so nice. I can have a lot of time to study.”
Right now, he sometimes studies using a battery-powered torch, but batteries are expensive and the family cannot always afford replacements.
When asked whether reliable lighting would help him achieve his dream of becoming president of Zambia, Given answered thoughtfully:
“I can be studying some on how to run a country in the evening, how to rule people in good governance, not in dictatorship. Because dictatorship is not the right way of ruling people.”
Given Mwale at his house in Chipungu Village, Zambia. Photo: SolarAid/Jason J Mulikita.
Stephen continues to encourage his son to pursue his ambitions.
“I encourage him. He is doing fine in terms of his performance at school and I keep encouraging him to continue working hard in order to achieve his dream and that if he doesn’t keep up his good performance, it will be impossible to achieve his dreams.”
He believes access to reliable lighting could make a major difference for Given and his siblings.
“I am certain that if they start studying from home with reliable lighting, they will even perform better than they are. When we have reliable lighting at home, I am sure they will be able to study more as they are very eager to study.”
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