Time to Reflect

I thought it would be appropriate to produce one final blog entry from the beaches of Zanzibar as my time in Tanzania dwindles.  To say the least, my stay in Africa was enlightening.  I have been inspired by the triumphs of the disadvantaged Tanzanians I encountered that have accomplished so much with so little.  As an American citizen from a supportive family, I have been given every advantage and living in a third world country has made me reconsider my perception of hard work.  I complain about long hours at work and in the library while Tanzania children need to beg for money for books and internet access.  Also, I feel very fortunate to be healthy.  Many Tanzanians are plagued by illness induced disabilities because they lack first world medicinal facilities.  For example, we stayed at an NGO (non-government organization) ran hotel called Neema Cafe.  The owners of the cafe employ disabled Tanzanians that are otherwise outcast from society.  One of the workers at the hotel was crippled by Polio and his only means of moving was by dragging himself across dirty walkways and roads.  I cannot begin to imagine how difficult it would be to spend a day in his life.  Naturally, I plan to use my new perspective as motivation to continue to work hard and to take advantage of my uniquely comfortable existence.

My support of solar energy has grown throughout the trip.  I have now seen firsthand the potential impact solar could make on the world and I am more confident then ever in the technology.  Zanzibar has proven to be a stomping ground for potential business transactions.  The island is fed electricity from the mainland via submerged cables coming from a power plant in Dar es Salaam.  However, the power is inconsistent and will go out several times a week. Also, we were informed that one of the cables shorted last year and Zanzibar was without power for 3 months.  Our extremely well connected Muslim translator, Roxy, has already introduced us to multiple business owners interested in solar.  These meetings have been interesting experiences and I am always impressed by the respect that the islanders have for American engineers.  We had one the other day with Hassan, the owner of Mercury's restaurant (one of the most popular restaurants in Zanzibar named after Freddy Mercury of Queen whom was born in Zanzibar) and the man responsible for 80% of the imported/exported alcohol on the Island.  He told us some crazy stories and then said that if we were really interested in starting a solar company on the Island that he would pull some strings to make sure we would get the contract to equip the parliament building with PV panels.  It was exciting to partake in such an interesting conversation, but it would be careless not to question the sincerity of these types of claims.  Regardless, I am inspired by the amount of people interested in solar and I am thankful to have been able to practice my business negotiating in such a surreal environment.

This trip has given me a new perspective on the world.  I feel that I owe it to myself and to the millions of people less fortunate then me to take full advantage of my situation.  I am in the position to accomplish all my goals through hard work, a luxury that many will never have.  I cannot thank my friends and family enough for their support.  Knowing that so many good people approved of and promoted this trip makes me feel extremely lucky.  I hope everyone enjoyed the blog updates and I urge you to contact me if you want any pictures or if you have questions about the trip.

-Asante Sana

Mfiome Dispensary Installation and A Walking Safari

Last week I was the lead engineer for the groups solar installation at the Mfiome dispensary in the Iringa region of Tanzania. I originally planned to design the system for the Mlowa dispensary, but we discovered that the government will to provide Mlowa with grid power in the future.  Thus, I was assigned the Mfiome dispensary that lies 50km north of Iringa and serves 3,200 residents.  I sized the Mfiome system to provide 3 cell phone chargers, 14 lights, and stand-by power for a vaccine refrigerator. We arrived at the site around 10am and we were finished by 4pm.  The installation went smoothly despite taking slightly longer then usual due to a wiring dilemma.  Unlike most of the buildings we have worked on, the concrete walls ran all the way to the roof.  Therefore we were forced to run our wiring outside of the building to provide light to the birthing room and several other high priority areas.  Despite the minor setback, my team worked great together and we were very efficient.  Cayleigh and Paul completed the racking, Mike and Chris worked on the electrical components, Lura instructed the nurses on maintanance and troubleshooting,and Donald entertained the children with his laptop. I have included the group photo that we took underneath our solar panel upon site completion.

The past week was great for extracurricular activities as well.  We stayed the night at Ruaha national park and went on both a driving and walking safari. I really enjoyed my safari experience the second time around.  We went on an evening game drive and witnessed a lion stalking a giraffe and an authentic African sunset.  That night We stayed in bungalows protected by guards armed with semiautomatic rifles.  The campsite was serene and swarming with hippos, elephants, and an occasional lion.  To say the least, there were many nervous mazungu's (white people) around the campfire that night.  The next morning we woke up early to go on a walking safari.  Once again, we were accompanied by armed guards and everyone was on edge, especially when the guards informed us that the week before we arrived a park ranger was killed by a hippo. The walk was surreal and we captured some impressive photos.  Jake has let me pirate a few of his photos for your viewing pleasure.  Sorry for the delayed update, Iringa's internet has been out for the past few days.  We will complete our installations and evaluations sometime next week and I plan to post one last blog update from Zanzibar, my final stop before heading back to the US.