Generating a brighter future for some of the poorest people on Earth

A small Welsh company is helping to give new hope and job opportunities to villagers in Zanzibar. With an average income of just 60p a day and up to 90 per cent unemployment amongst the young, these are some of the poorest people on earth.

Carmarthen based Sazani Associates, with the help of the Welsh Government and Comic Relief, has completed a project installing solar power systems at 20 villages across the northern district of the island.
And at the same time they have helped create a new co-operative of more than 40 trained installers which already plans to expand to build a new sustainable business.

Now Pembrokeshire solar engineer James Ramage has been out to the tropical island checking out the systems for Sazani and was pleasantly surprised with what he found, as he told the new solar team at a workshop event at Mkokotoni college.

“Not only were all the systems competently installed, but the team had found their own solutions to make them fit their needs better,” James told the training meeting.

The plan across the scheme is to make a small charge for local people to use the electricity, whether for computer study or mobile charging, to help build a maintenance and replacement fund for the systems.
“Our hope is that this highly skilled team will now be able to market their abilities to the wider community across Zanzibar and create their own self-supporting business that allows others to benefit from solar power and provides them with an income, ” said James.
Power cuts are usually a minor annoyance in Wales, caused by severe weather and storms. But in rural Zanzibar for many villages the supply is sporadic all the time – that is if they are on the grid at all.
Power shortages have a direct impact on education and communication as well as ordinary day to day to life because, situated close to the equator, sunset comes early and suddenly.

Two local electrical engineers have been trained as photo-voltaic installers at Mkokotoni technical college. They in turn have trained two local young people in each village across the district how to install and maintain the systems in each village.

“So not only are those young people benefitting from being able to carry on studying after dark – for many of the girls this is the only time they can study because of the chores they have to do around the home – they have now created a solar installation cooperative to bid for local contracts,” said James

Because with youth unemployment currently running at 90 per cent, there is a drive to encourage self-employment, an approach Comic Relief is supporting across Africa.

Villagers pay a small amount to the local solar committee for using solar power and the money is used to cover maintenance and replacement equipment costs – giving local young people a source of income.

The 100 watt, battery operated systems – which cost just £500 each – also mean that up to 24 mobile phones can be charged at any one time, a vital communication tool for new trade which villagers are trying to build up to increase their incomes. The average wage is just 60p a day.
Mobile phone masts have sprung up across the whole island – the signal is better than in most parts of rural Wales – and phones themselves are comparatively cheap.

So the mobile phone has become the key to rural people finding a better, more lucrative market for their produce in Stone Town, the capital. A simple code system means they can tell buyers their produce is on the way on one of the ubiquitous dala-dala, small Japanese minibuses which transport people and goods at break-neck speed around Zanzibar. Money can also be transferred by phone to rural producers.
If you would like to volunteer to join in Sazani’s work in Zanzibar log on to www.sazaniassociates.org.uk/volunteering to find out more.
If you would like to donate money to help Sazani’s work, or become a member, through our CASA initiative log on to http://www.sazaniassociates.org.uk/casa/.

Sazani Associates was set up in 2005 with a number of colleagues and has registered offices in Belize and Tanzania (Zanzibar)

The mission statement of Sazani (pronounced SA ZAN EE) is; through shared learning and experience and by building on people’s strengths, supporting people to help themselves and future generations.
The Welsh-based NGO works across three continents supported by UKAID, the EU and Comic Relief, with some of the world’s poorest communities. Wales is a very special place and through professional relationships with governments and people across the world the team is promoting Wales and wider British interests.

Their work is increasingly about helping businesses to get involved in supporting some of the world’s poorest people in a way which is tangible and cost effective.

One local print business in Pembroke Dock – Modern Print has been supporting children in Zanzibar building a rainwater harvesting scheme. This means children can get a drink of water in school and be able to wash their hands after going to the toilet.

The Sazani Associates CASA Schemes lets UK businesses support everything from toilets for schools, shoes for children to sponsoring a teacher through university. Find out more on the website.

For more information on Sazani Associates look at http://www.sazaniassociates.org.uk/