Updates from Kamabai

I'm finally back in the office after almost three straight weeks of up-country work! Good to be able to relax a bit and also a good time to update everyone on the recent work. Most importantly the Kamabai Community Charging Station is up and running and has been formally handed over to the community by ENFO's Mohamed. I managed to get to the site last Sunday and they charged over 100 phones and rented out nearly ten lights that day alone, generating almost Le100000 for the community and starting the process of getting safe and clean solar power to the people. It was amazing to see the work that Mohamed, Jalloh and the community had done in such a short time. We are heading there in two weeks to check up on the system and monitor the day to day operations...but so far so good.

From Kamabai I moved to our second site in Mattru Jong, Bonthe District. This was our first trip to the community so we weren't sure what to expect. Fortunately, a partner org, MCSL had done an excellent job of discussing the project with the community. The Chief and other members of the working committee were quickly on hand and after a quick tour and site inspection we got right to work. By the end of the second day the solar power had been installed, all the old faulty wiring had been removed and the main barri lights reinstalled. The two main people who will be running the station were with us from the start and seem to already have a good understanding of how the system operates. I left Mattru in the capable hands of Jalloh and he will be with them for the next two weeks, continuing the training and setting up the kiosk and charging station.