For a few months over the summer, Finance Volunteer Ben Hadfield, gave the Zambian team valuable support during a very busy period. Ben recently wrote an account of a particularly special week:
A long weekend, spanning the end of July and the beginning of August, witnessed Zambia's 85th Agricultural and Commercial Show. The annual event invites organisations from all over Africa to exhibit their wares and expand their networks. 150,000 visitors descended on the show grounds of Lusaka over the course of the five day event. We exhibited at the Show to increase SolarAid's profile.
Extensive preparations were made, thousands of flyers were distributed and an impressive stand in the bright orange SolarAid colours was designed and constructed, right in the centre. The show was a brilliant opportunity to showcase SunnyMoney products and raise awareness of solar power.
Visitors to the stand were ushered into a dark room where our range of lights were displayed and their attributes explained. It was encouraging to see the excitement of the visitors and many returned to our stand, either to buy more lights, or to show to their friends and relatives. It was a fantastic opportunity to explain the concept of solar and its advantages over more traditional energy sources, such as kerosene and candles. Although our main objective was to network, we still managed to sell nearly 250 products during the event. Following the show we sold a further 55 products to customers who visited our stand.
Many promising connections were made with other organisations, both NGOs and local businesses, providing exciting opportunities for the future growth of the programme. The show was a great success and a really good team building exercise too. Benefits were felt long after the five day event, with customers regularly appearing at the door of our office.
Ben
It's been a while since I last blogged, partly because it has been an extremely busy and exciting time for the Zambia programme. Let me update you with the news.
Since completing our comprehensive selection and training process in June, we have installed 12 facilities, 4 schools, an IT learning centre and 7 rural health clinics with sustainable solar power. Our solar fridges have also arrived, so very soon health clinics will be able to keep essential vaccines, which save lives. Our wonderful technical team, Robin Z Mwanza and William Kaitante, have done a great job of streamlining our systems and making sure we're fully stocked for our latest installations.
Students at a recent installation in Western Province - the students were almost as excited about the spare piping they could use as toys, as they were about their new solar system.
Very excitingly, we are also waiting on the delivery of over 100 solar panels, kindly donated by Solarcentury. As soon as these arrive, we will be embarking on an ambitious installation schedule in Eastern Province. We currently have 50 schools all patiently waiting for our team to arrive and to install the panels! All the schools have been fully trained in how to look after the systems, how to generate income and how to effectively manage usage in order to optimise solar power.
Upcoming installations drawn on the chalk board.
And so to SunnyMoney, our microsolar arm which is generating a solar market in Zambia. Well, it's also experienced a period of massive growth, with over 2,000 products sold by SolarAid and our partners over the past few months. And we are developing more and more contacts, including a recently launched partnership with Tikondane Community Centre. Run by the people of Katete, Eastern Province, it has a thriving community school and adult education programme, with several income generating activities; including a skill training initiative, garden and now solar lights! By selling SunnyMoney products, villagers of Katete are empoweing themselves. To find out more how microsolar lights are changing lives watch our videos here.
SunnyMoney sellers at Tikonadane Community Centre (from left to right: Chris, Stafford, Rachel, Efrida).
Finally, our recent exhibition at the Zambian Agriculture and Commercial Show was a huge success (more news to follow). We generated lots of interest in our solar lights and met with potential partners. Given the massive interest, we are eagerly awaiting a shipment of a new range of products due to arrive in October.
The SolarAid vehicle full of products about to be delivered to partners.
I would also like to say a special thanks to our Finance Volunteer of three months, Ben Hadfield. Ben has been setting new systems in place to ensure smooth functioning while we continue to scale up our operations. He is also in the process of helping to recruit a new accountant for the office.
It's been a busy time for SolarAid Zambia. We are really proud of whats been achieved in the last few months and excited about the future....stay tuned for more news.
To ensure that we continue to reach rural areas of sub-saharan Africa please make a donation here.
The SolarAid team has just returned from a series of school committee training workshops in Eastern Province. Each school, as recently as last month, was selected to receive a solar installation.
This week 19 schools from four zones in Chipata District completed thorough training sessions. We covered a variety of topics including system monitoring and maintenance, business planning for income generating activities and reporting. A special emphasis was also placed on how to maximise the effectiveness of solar systems in order to benefit students, teachers and the wider community.
We were consistently impressed by the engagement of the trainees, especially the quality of presentations from committee members and the in-depth discussions that ensued. It was hard work but not without its fun. The role play sessions covering tricky questions that may be asked about the solar system were a particular highlight.
As ever there were many questions about our SunnyMoney initiative during the workshops. The demand for microsolar in the region is very high and as a result many schools handed in long lists of individuals in their communities requesting solar products.
Now that initial training is complete the schools will be busy preparing for the arrival of their solar installations. They will be opening bank accounts to manage funds, developing business plans, creating weekly schedules for system maintenance and educating local people as to the benefits that solar will bring.
We will be returning to the region next week to hold further training sessions for the remaining 30 selected schools. SolarAid is scheduled to begin installing its Eastern Province schools from mid-July.
More news soon!
Steve
Help SolarAid reach more rural communities with clean and affordable energy by making a donation.
"I felt like I was calling and telling these schools that they had won the lottery!"
SolarAid Administrative Assistant, Karla Kanyanga, had been on the phone all afternoon to head teachers in Chipata, Eastern Province. She was telling them life changing news - they had been successful in their application for solar power. "One teacher simply yelled down the phone, 'Thank you, thank you, thank you!'" Karla said.
Over a period of a hundred days, a small and dedicated Zambian team interviewed and evaluated over a hundred schools for potential solar installation. In all, 49 schools were successful.
The selected schools were shown how solar power generated by their panels can be used to charge mobile phones, laptop computers and televisions. Many schools use the phone charging capacity as a way to generate income by providing a charging service to the local community. SolarAid provides case studies of successful business models for schools interested in using the systems in this way.
SolarAid strives for sustainability and longevity of solar installations, therefore only schools that demonstrate a high level of commitment and understanding are selected. By training teachers and local people in solar maintenance, and by providing ongoing consultation and contact, the units are expected to last many years before batteries need replacing. When they do, SolarAid will support and consult with the school.
Brilliantly, many of the head teachers Karla spoke to asked if they would also be receiving microsolar lights. There is a growing need for portable solar systems as a clean, safe and affordable alternative to the highly toxic and flammable kerosene lamp. When schools and students see the benefit of solar in the classroom it is inevitable that they will seek to reap the same rewards in the home and share this with their family and friends.
Programme Manager, Ellie Higham, said: "This is great news. Access to solar energy will revolutionise the educational opportunities for the students and provide huge benefits to the wider community. Thanks to all the team for their hard work and long hours to enable us to bring such good news to these schools. I'm sure we'll have much to report on when the schools receive their installs later on this year."
To enable SolarAid to provide more schools with solar power please make a donation.
SolarAid Zambia have been extremely busy in recent months, evaluating schools for macrosolar installation in both Chipata and Chadiza of the Eastern Province.
The past few weeks have seen the team cover 21 of the remotest schools in the region. It has been a time full of critical decisions, but more importantly it has been a journey to achieve our ambitious goals . As I write, staff and volunteers are heading off to cover 12 more schools for evaluation. By September, 50 of these schools will receive life-changing solar power to dramatically improve education. These systems provide clean light, extended learning hours, access to laptop computers, television and DVD players - all brilliant learning resources.
Teachers and local people have maintenance training to ensure system longevity and also are shown how it can be used as an income generating facility. For instance, many schools will use the solar power to charge mobile phones, at a small cost. It's a great way to recoup the 10% of the installation fee that schools are asked to provide.
In two years other SolarAid programme countries such as Kenya have seen exam results improve dramatically. It will be great to see if we can accomplish the same in Chipata and Chadiza over the coming years of solar development.
Below are some photos of Nyakatali Secondary School, one of the latest to qualify for an sustainable solar installation in May.
Please help us reach more schools like Nyakatali my making a donation here.
Last weekend, SolarAid was joined in Lusaka by fundraising superstar Rick de Gaay Fortman. Rick is riding 7000 kilometres from Cape Town to Nairobi in order to raise enough money to provide Zambia with at least 20 solar installations for schools.
Rick has been on an epic journey, cycling 3000 kilometres through Botswana, Namibia and Zimbabwe. On route to Lusaka, Rick was joined by 30 local cycling enthusiasts at 6:30am on a Saturday, all up early to celebrate his achievements.
As Rick and his supporters approached Lusaka, we used our SolarAid vehicle to ensure the riders' safety on the busy Kafue-Lusaka road. We all received lots of car horns, claps and cheers - we even had a few pedestrian cyclists join in the ride!
On arrival in Lusaka, Rick joined SolarAid Country Manager, Trevor Robson, for a press conference to discuss his journey and promote renewable energy to the Zambian media. So far SolarAid has installed 46 systems in Zambia; Rick explained that his ambition is to raise funds for at least another 20 additional school installations.
After a well deserved rest on Sunday, Rick joined SolarAid for a monitoring and evaluation trip to Chifwema Open Community School. Rick took the opportunity to get to know the students and teachers, and to hear how SolarAid's macrosolar system has benefitted the Chifwema community. These routine trips are to ensure the longevity and sustainability of our programmes.
Rick now has another 4000km before he culminates his journey in Nairobi, mid-December. If you would like to support Rick please make a donation here.
You can follow Rick's adventure on his website, Facebook or on Twitter.
Four new staff members have joined the Zambian team in the past few months as we scale up operations.
Regina Pelembe joined the team four months ago as the project bookkeeper. Regina has an impressive background, having previously worked for international professional services organisation Deloitte. To support the team in day-to-day operations Karla Kanyanga was hired as Administrative Officer. Karla, a trained nurse who has lived in Zambia for three and a half years, plays a key role in gathering data for our monitoring and evaluations department. Steve Woodward and Ellie Higham, volunteers from the South American pilot project, arrived in Zambia at the start of September to assist the team. Steve will act as the macrosolar coordinator and Ellie will take the role of microsolar coordinator.
The new recruits join Country Business Manager Trevor Robson and installation team members William Kaitente and Robin Z. Mwanza. All the staff are excited about SolarAid's work and are busy planning and implementing strategies for both macrosolar and microsolar initiatives.
Over the next few months the team plans to install 55 more solar systems in rural Zambian communities. The past year and a half has seen the installation of solar systems on 45 schools and one clinic, helping thousands of students and community members to access clean, affordable and safe energy. For the next phase of installs the team are working with district educational departments to find the poorest rural schools to benefit from our work. Furthermore there are plans to install systems in 20 clinics to improve vaccine storage facilities and develop better working conditions.
We are also expanding our microsolar programme, assisting franchisees build businesses and working with them towards sustainability. The team hopes to recruit, train and work with more entrepreneurs over the coming months. Some of our existing franchisees will soon be opening solar kiosks in Lusaka and Choma (Eastern Province). Boyd Situmbeko, who often works as part of the installation team, has recently opened his own kiosk in Sesheke (Western Province).
More news soon!
As SolarAid's Design and Production Coordinator I have been visiting all four of our programme countries to carry out research on two brand new microsolar prototypes.
Whilst in Zambia, I was delayed on leaving for Lundazi because of car trouble. This meant I was able to get to know the Zambian team a bit better which was great. I was also able to admire the painted wall outside the office, which did a great job to advertise the benefits of solar and of course, SunnyMoney! It definitely works as there was a good stream of people enquiring in the office.
In Lundazi I visited new schools to talk to them about our macrosolar programme and to advertise our SunnyMoney products. We arrived at one school as it was getting dark, it was poignant that the teachers had started taking tables outside to make the most of the failing light. I asked them to stop and explained that we had enough solar power to light the room. Once inside we turned on both of our prototypes to full power and hung them in the room, it was fantastic!
After Country Business Manager,Trevor Robson had finished talking about the macrosolar programme (the larger solar panels which are installed to offer solar energy to power an entire school) I asked those in attendance to look above them at the two designs hanging from the rafters. I explained what I was doing out in Zambia and asked them to consider each design carefully. As I said what each design could do the room became very excited. We took the prototypes down and passed them around the room. When asked which one they would prefer if they could only have one it was a 50/50 split! Great to see that both ideas are appealing to people.
Look out for more blogs to come on all our programme blogs.
Marianne
To support our team in Zambia please make a donation here.
I am delighted to announce that we have met our target of 31 macrosolar installations by May 31. Since the Zambian programme began in July 2008 we have been aware that only 2% of rural people have access to the electricity grid. So with every solar installation we provide to schools, health and community centres it makes us very proud to create power where otherwise there would be none.
Success stories in the field are encouraging as are those within our team. Macrosolar Team Leader William, for example, started out as a local handyman. Married with two children, William's obvious talent and hard-working ethos granted us the opportunity to employ him as designer of the Zam Lamp microsolar product in 2009. There are now 200 of these household lights in use across rural Zambia even though newer devices such as the Ravi are now in place.
William's entrepreneurial attitude has helped increase his skill base and he now has a thorough understanding of much larger macrosolar systems. His fast progression means that he now leads our macrosolar team. However William still finds the time to respond to microsolar queries when given the opportunity. Indeed William's quickly acquired working knowledge and experience in both macro and micro solar operations has been vital to our success in meeting targets and bringing light to those who need it most
More news and developments soon.
Trevor
The message coming from Simungoma School was clear - "we want light for the future." And we are certainly here to realise that need. Once complete, the installation in Western Zambia will not only benefit the school but also the local community who will have access to a mobile phone charging station. Tomorrow though we'll hit the road again, but as I look to the sky the weather is looking decidedly stubborn.
Councillor and Deputy Head Mrs Florence Sililo Makando of Simungoma School (right) with SolarAid volunteer William Kaitante.
Heading out tomorrow will be tricky, the rains have not yet abated, the thunderstorms are still coming through and the streams and lowlands are flooded. The tracks we'll take en-route to the school site pass the beautiful Mopane Cathedral, before entering fairly treacherous flat and grasslands. We have managed so far though, even with the wheels of the Landrover often submerged in water. Some flatlands however will remain impassable until the water has dried up, even with the Landrover's traction control.
We have sand ladders and ropes at the ready and will manage the few troublesome spots, even if that means some digging and pushing along the way!
Last night we'd just got into our tents when the huge storm that had been threatening us all day finally started with avengeance.
More soon
Trevor
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