Earth Energy Education in Rural Zambia
I first went to Zambia as a volunteer teacher eight years ago to work alongside and offer support to teachers in some of the poorest parts of the country.
It would undoubtedly be an interesting trip opening my eyes to a world very different from my own, but I didn’t expect the experience to have such an overwhelming effect that I would be compelled to re-visit year after year.
During the years of my involvement with Baraka Community Partnerships it has developed greatly, extending its reach to more and more needy people.
In 2019 we opened “The Baraka Learning Centre” in Kapiri Mposhi district, Central Province.
The objective was to support schools and students in the area improving the standard of education by combining Zambian values and traditions with the best of British education, enhanced further by quality teaching resources never before seen in Zambian schools. In an area of overwhelming poverty, the Learning Centre has inevitably become a community hub where alongside the numerous visiting children, we also offer adult literacy classes, toddler play sessions, IT support sessions for teachers, a dance club and a weekly funrun. This is not an exhaustive list – a host of programmes have been established to give local people leisure activities, vocational skills, and social interaction in a community where they were never previously available. The focus, however, has remained the education of local children and support to schools and teachers in the area.
In addition to this, Baraka has a “Safe House” in Maamba in Southern Province housing 26 vulnerable girls from poor families in remote villages who would not otherwise be able to complete their education.
I am now fortunate enough to combine this passion with a further one, thanks to Earth Energy Education (EEE) with whom I also work.
Just as experiences in Zambia have led to a new area of teaching and learning, so too has the work I have done with EEE. I have taken numerous children to visit solar and wind farms and delivered workshops in many schools. These site visits and workshops go beyond the basic science of solar and wind power, into learning and discussion in many related subject areas, such as renewable energy, fossil fuels, global warming and climate change, giving children an understanding of the far-reaching consequences of the choices made regarding the fuel we use for power. With these topics also now hot in the news and media, our British children, privileged in comparison to their contemporaries in other corners of the world, are awakening to issues which affect the future of those around the globe as well as themselves.
In 2022 I once again travelled to Zambia, this time equipped with resources donated by EEE which I used to deliver three workshops.
The first of these was with our girls at the Safe House in Maamba in Southern Province assisted by Francis Bwalya, a qualified geography teacher who works for Baraka Zambia as Sponsorship Programme Manager.
The girls are all in their last few years of school and work hard with the support of live in teacher and mentor Evelyn who helps them with their study in the evenings and at weekends. They range from 17 to 20 years in age and are all very capable with a good level of English. This Saturday morning saw the arrival of a young disabled girl Sharon who is sponsored by Baraka and attends a local boarding school for students with special needs. When possible, Sharon visits the safe house to share activities with the girls and we were very pleased she was able to participate in the workshop. I started the lesson with a chat about solar energy and solar farms to gauge their knowledge and understanding in this area. Solar farms (known as solar plants in Zambia) are not common in the country, but in villages without mains electricity small solar panels for lighting and charging devices are common.
This was followed by a vocabulary exercise in which we discussed renewable energy, global warming and climate change and clarified the meaning of words and expressions we were to use.
The girls then watched a short EEE video about a solar farm in England with an ariel view showing the size of the site, and an explanation about the journey of the energy from the sun to its final destination as electricity in our homes.
Arriving at the subject of electricity in our homes, we talked about electrical circuits which the girls had all studied at school. Schools are so poorly resourced in the country, that despite learning about this, very few had had practical experience of using components to power a bulb or similar and were delighted to use the renewable energy boxes giving the opportunity to experiment.
A week later, I was at the Baraka Learning Centre in Central Province, 440 miles north of Maamba, where I delivered a similar workshop to 21 Grade 4 students accompanied by two teachers from Mount Camel School. In Zambia, children are in classes according to ability, not age, due to children starting school at different times as education is not compulsory. However, grade 4 is close in level to Year 4 in the UK and the children in this class ranged from eight to 12 years old.
The same basic content was included with simpler explanations and Francis translating into Bemba, the local language. After a brief introduction, we took the children outside to look at the recently installed solar panels on the roof of the office which have transformed day to day operations at the Learning Centre. They were asked what they noticed about the position of the panels and all observed that they faced the same way. With the help of compasses, a world map, some globes and an orange playing the part of the sun, they concluded it was north. With further examination of the globes, the children were able to locate the UK and equator and learnt why solar panels face different directions in the northern and southern hemisphere. The children particularly enjoyed the new experience of learning to use a compass.
The children then had great fun experimenting with the components in the renewable energy boxes to make a range of electrical circuits and were delighted with the solar powered toys. They are very excited about returning to the Learning Centre in January to make their own toys with Francis.
Our sports coach asked me to do a further workshop with teenage boys from the Baraka football team who were equally responsive and engaged. This session, with similar activities, was concluded with additional information about global warming and a discussion about the serious problem of deforestation in Zambia.
In rural Zambia, as few as 4% of homes benefit from electricity (31% nationally). Even those fortunate enough to have mains electricity have frequent scheduled power cuts known as “load shedding”. These are due to frequent droughts limiting the supply of hydro-electric power, the source of 85% of the country’s electricity.
In a country where 88% of the rural population (and over 50% nationally) live below the poverty line, many have no alternative to charcoal for heating and cooking. In Central Province, few rural inhabitants use anything else and even in the urban areas, as many as 90% use charcoal as a cooking fuel. It is no surprise that Zambia is one of the worst countries in Africa for deforestation.
Education in this subject is particularly meaningful and significant for the young generation in Zambia who will be shaping the future of their country. I hope we have made a difference in engaging their interest in these particularly pertinent issues.
Feedback and quotes from those who took part in workshops said:
“I learnt that solar panels are covered in glass because glass allows light to pass through it.” Esther (Maamba)
“I learnt how to connect the bulbs to the solar. It was very interesting to see the location of our Safe House on Google Maps and learning to use a compass for the first time.” Gloria (Maamba)
“The first thing I learnt was the meaning of certain words and geographical terms which was very helpful in the lesson. I also learnt about the solar panels and how they trap sunlight which travels from them to the National Grid and that solar panels do not just face upwards, but at an angle.” Hope (Maamba)
“I had the chance to have fun while learning when I connected the solar cells and cables to the bulbs and buzzer with my friends. I loved lighting a bulb using the handcrank and my own energy. I also learnt how the earth is divided into two equal parts which are the Northern and Southern Hemisphere and the line that divides them is known as the Equator.” Catherine (Maamba)
“I learnt that in Zambia solar panels face north to receive enough light.” Grace (Mt Camel)
“I felt happy because it’s my first time to see a solar helicopter and a solar moving car.” Erick (Mt Camel)
“I learnt that solar is a clean energy.” Joseph (Mt Camel)
“I learnt that solar can produce power for a light bulb.” Saviour (Mt Camel)
“I was happy to see the global maps and how I can find countries.” Frank (Mt Camel)
“It was really interesting making circuits with the solar panels and fun playing with the solar toys.” Gift (Baraka Football Team)
“Deforestation is a big problem in Zambia because everyone uses charcoal and it is contributing to global warming.” Stephen (Baraka Football Team)
Louise McKee
Educational Consultant – Baraka Zambia & Earth Energy Education