Of Sunlight, Music, and Hope
John and I went to the village of Manzese yesterday. Its one of the poorest areas greater Dar, with one of the highest densities of HIV infections in the country. Here, one can hire a teenage prostitute for about Tsh1000, comparable to less than one USD.
Amidst the bussle 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 and where the electric wirings are done by the locals.
On attendance were Tanzanians from all walks of life, from a young mattress entrepreneur with two children to a grain merchant 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 summarized 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 wants others to embrace their ideas immediately. But I was proud of him 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.
We completed our solar panel assembly training in less than a day. The group connected their newly assembled panel to a radio and music began to play. It was Madonna. We danced not just to the music, but to the hope held in the promise of the sun. And although so many things felt wrong in that village, I know that somewhere in the glitter of our solar panels, there is light at the end of the tunnel.