This week we had a group of 12 youngsters in the house every afternoon to take lessons on installing an electrical installation. This is one of the projects financed through EO Metterdaad in the Netherlands in which we train young people to install a safe switch box in the houses and also to connect cables, sockets, lights and switches. The project provides for the training and installation of the switch box, the people themselves bear the costs of the cables and other parts according to their wishes for their homes.

We issued an open invitation to see who would be interested in the training. This week we had 12 young men and women who came every afternoon to participated. For the next week, 5 more names are on the list who, after hearing the stories of the current group, have signed up to be trained as well. We are very pleased with this interest.

We show a number of photos to get an impression of the training. Our remote trainer is Evert van Klompenburg, an electrician in the Netherlands, who came over December 2018 to think along and work on the power project with Bruce (from Canada). This is part of the project to provide 24 hours electricity in the village. It will be very important that the power installations in the houses are up to date and safe.

The first days we mainly explained how a home network functions and how the switches, sockets and lamp bases must be connected.

 

 

 

This was followed by getting the picture in the church. Marco had installed a switch box there and the students now could see what it should “look like” in real life.

 

Then we went to the guesthouse. Here the students had to take different measurements. They work in teams of three. Together you know more than on your own. It has also been agreed that each team will call another team to check their work when they have finished their job. Safety first! How much cable is needed for each of the three power groups that we will be connecting. Everyone will do a practical internship in this building the following week. Then we will see if they really understood what has been thought.

 

 

 

Last item on the list was how to build the switch box. Everyone built their own box. The switches were interconnected with a blue and a brown wire.

 

 

 

Strip cables and connect them properly. And check each other’s work again. The cabinets are back in the box, ready to be built into the houses. In the coming weeks, the groups will visit the people in the village to provide the houses with a switch box and to collect the wishes of the residents so that they can make an estimate of the costs to be able to connect the desired cables, sockets, etc. in the houses.