It took only two days to transform the electricity grid of Kamanga Health Centre (KHC) to a more reliable and greener option. From unreliable electricity and costly back-up diesel generator to freshly installed solar panels powered from the sun, of which there is plenty of in Tanzania, most of the year round.
Paulina Urassa, Director of Health Programmes at KHC, recounts a harrowing story of what happened one evening in a neighbouring village of Karumo. Eleven people were injured in a suspected revenge attack, in which a group of men targeted a few households and brutally hacked the occupants with machetes. The injured were rushed to KHC, only to find it in the dark. The village electricity had switched off, and the back-up diesel generator was due to be fixed the following day, as the technician had to make his way from Mwanza town via the ferry. But the dedicated staff got down to work and tended the injured by torch light. No lives were lost, but this situation was far from ideal and Cedar Tanzania knew that a far more reliable power source had to be implemented at the health centre and soon.
Three solar companies were approached of which Chloride Exide was chosen. They promptly undertook an onsite visit and diligently calculated the electrical load needed based on the identified equipment and appliances which were supposed to be powered by the solar system. It took just two days for Chloride Exide to install the 6 solar panels on the roof of KHC. The 7,336 Watt electrical load generated by the solar panels means that the maternity ward’s neonatal resuscitation table as well as other essential equipment will continue to be used when the electricity inevitably goes out in the village of Kamanga. The solar system is designed in such a way that it can produce power for twenty-four hours a day. And on the days that the sun does not shine and the rains come there is a back-up system which enables batteries to be charged from the village electricity grid. In this way, it is hoped that the health centre will always have power when it is needed.
It is thanks to the Irish Embassy’s generous donation together with Friends of Cedar Switzerland’s gala donation that secured the funds needed for the new solar system in KHC to be installed this November.
And are there any plans to install any more solar panels in the future at KHC? Caroline Bernard, Executive Director, says “We would ideally like to equip the entire health centre with solar panels and completely “go green” since it is not only cheaper and more reliable, but also better for the environment. However, we are conscious that completely switching the power supply from electrical to solar power is an expensive exercise, so we will start looking for funding opportunities in 2020.”
Make a difference and join us as we transform Kamanga Health Centre completely green!