Some days, it's just too hot to function. Children lie down wherever cool, shaded surface is available. Conversations often begin with "Kutenta, kutenta" (it's really hot). Beads of sweat drip down temples, only to be wiped away for the next one to form. Women carry umbrellas to shield themselves and the babies on their backs from the unforgiving rays. The midday sun feels ruthless, depleting peoples' energy. But for some, it is providing just that.
When I arrived in Mtakataka, Malawi to begin my Peace Corps service at a rural health center, I was surprised to find that some of the center was already equipped with solar panels, lights, and charger, including my own housing. Coming from the U.S., where alternative forms of energy are still atypical, it's hard, at first, to believe that in rural Malawi, where the majority of people live without electricity or running water, most people know about and want access to solar electricity.
The health center where I live delivers 60 babies a month on average, almost half of which are done in the dead of night. Before solar was installed in 2009 in the delivery room, midwife Martha Soko had to deliver babies by kerosene lamp. "It was very difficult in those circumstances," she remembers, shaking her head disapprovingly. "Having lights now gives us much more confidence that deliveries are done in a safe environment."
Access to any form of electricity in a village in Malawi is rare. In fact, according to the latest Demographic Health Survey done in 2010, 4 percent of rural households in Malawi have electricity. The few hospitals, schools, and businesses that do have electricity usually rely on a grid-power system that is notoriously sporadic; blackouts due to load shedding often happen every day for several hours, sometimes lasting for several days. Further, Malawi is currently experiencing an acute fuel shortage, so the cost of generators is impractical.
With solar, especially in a hot, sunny area such as mine, blackouts are almost unheard of, especially if the solar is used responsibly. Even during the rainy season, which lasts from mid-December through April, there is still enough sun to power the charging of cell phones and lights at night. At the health center, these two functions are imperative to ensure the best possible care for the patients. Cell phones allow communication to the local district hospital in the event of an emergency transfer of a patient. Lights give the medical staff the ability to perform at their best, even in the pitch black of a moonless night.
Along with the benefit of efficiency, the cost of solar is also favorable to its alternative. To install an 85-watt solar panel, battery charge, and 4 lights in a home is around $2,200. Compare that to the 244 day-long, almost $10,000 installment fee (according to doingbusiness.org) for grid-power electricity for businesses in Malawi.
When I see the center's night watchman dutifully turn off the lights to conserve energy as the sun rises each morning, I know that the solar is in good hands. Solar energy may not directly affect the problems in developing countries, but it does provide what I have often found to be the first step toward solving them: people knowing that improvement can come from their very own resources, rather than a NGO- labeled truck.