An Investment in Energy is an Investment in Education

Last week we visited five rural schools (Chilo, Jenda, Guramba Gieorgies, Gebru Warka, and Shumarjie) where the JDC recently installed solar panels. The panels absorb the sun's rays as a source of energy for generating electricity. Ethiopia is the perfect place for solar panels. As I've mentioned before, the locals say there is sunshine 13 months of the year. And so far it seems to be true! It has rained only three times in Gonder since I arrived, and each shower was in the late afternoon and lasted no more than 20 minutes. 

The schools with the solar panels are in remote locations where it would otherwise be difficult to obtain electricity. To get to Jenda, Guramba Gieorgies, and Gebru Warka we had to navigate narrow dirt roads full of rocks, ridges, and bends. Guramba Gieorgies was in small village that we reached after driving through fields and fields. Along the road to the village, which is really little more than a dirt trail, are wooden posts painted red, yellow, and green. They lead to the village, which is often hard to find when the fields are full of crops.

We visited the schools to examine the solar panels, see if there were any issues, and speak with teachers and administrators. The most common uses for the panels are charging cellular phones, providing power for radios, and supplying light.

Chilo

Jenda

Guramba Gieorgies

Gebru Warka

 

 

Shumarjie

One administrator explained that it is important for the staff to have fully-charged cellular phones because it enhances communication between teachers as well as between the school and the Woreda Educational Office. Previously, if there was an issue one would have to physically find a teacher or travel to the Woreda Educational Office rather than simply make a call. 

As part of the curriculum, students are required by the Ministry of Education to listen to educational radio programs. The government has educational radio stations and airs age-appopriate programs for students on a variety of topics. Teachers said the programs are factual, unbiased, and uniform across the country. They also mentioned that the students enjoy using technology to learn and accept the information presented in the programs since it comes from a higher authority.

Before installation of the solar panels, the schools used battery-powered radios. The electronic radios have proved to be more reliable with better quality sound and lower long-term costs. At Chilo, a teacher told us that in the past students often had to miss radio programs until new batteries could be purchased.

A number of the teachers at different schools told us they use the solar panels to power lights at night for teacher meetings and instruction. Many also intend to start teaching evening adult education courses once harvest season is over. In the future the solar panels can be used to power televisions and computers. Recently, a laptop was donated to Shumarjie. Ari and I will be giving the teachers lessons on how to use the laptop and educational CD-ROM's. It may even be feasible to gain Internet access in the future. The solar panels have opened the door to numerous possibilities for these rural schools.