Lumen Christi

Tanzania depends on hydropower plants for about 45% of its energy supply. In recent years, lower rainfall has led to water shortages that prevent the proper functioning of these plants. This in turn leads to an unstable and hence unreliable power grid. Due to climate change, such droughts are likely to become more frequent, which does not exactly help grid reliability.

At this very moment, the unstable grid is causing very concrete everyday problems. For instance, the frequent power cuts are preventing classes from running properly, as is the case at Lumen Christi Institute. This is a school located in Maji ya Chai, near Arusha in northern Tanzania. The institute offers undergraduate courses in philosophy and religious formation programmes to 150 students from Tanzania and surrounding areas. 

We, Julie, Rhani, Stef and Emmanuel, will install several PV systems on the Lumen Christi Institute campus this summer, hoping to do away with frequent power cuts. Our main aim is to enable better education, but also to provide the refectory and boarding school with reliable energy. We will also replace batteries in the dispensary so that vaccines can be kept cool and basic healthcare can be provided to the residents of Maji ya Chai.