I just had a message from Mr Chifaka, Head of Pakati Secondary school, that they have no electricity there rught now. There are two main reasons for this:
Firstly, the power supply from ZESA (Zimbabwe Electrucity Supply Authority) has been affected by the pole supporting the cabling being damaged. The pole is just near the home of Mr Chifaka at the school. They are waiting for ZESA to come and repair it.
Secondly, the solar panels the school has have stopped working, as the battery/batteries being used to store electricity are too old, and no longer work. See an earluer post about the solar supply here: https://friendsofpakati.com/2019/10/13/power-to-pakati/
We cannot do anything about the ZESA supply, as they will reconnect as soon as they can. The one thing we CAN do is to help the school replace the battery/batteries for the solar power supply. I am waiting for a quote on how much that would cost.
Without any power, the school is hampered in so many ways, including its administration, and communucation with the outside world. Also. The chances of any IT lessons using the few computers we provided in 2019 are therefore zero.
I am also aware of eletricity problems at Mapanga Prinary, a school in the same Ward 14, as reported briefly here https://friendsofpakati.com/2021/03/17/back-to-school-exam-classes-return/ I am told their transformer was struck by lightening on 6th January, and they are waiting for a replacement. They do not have Solar Power installed.
If we can get some donations which exceed the cost of the battery power for Pakati’s solar power, then we can look at assisting Mapanga too.
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