The school was fully wired for electrical power when it was built, 2007. Unfortunately, unbeknown to us at the time, the British Standard wiring was sold by the contractor who replaced it with an inferior and dangerous substitute.
It is hoped as we develop and find more people willing to help and to donate their time, effort and fund raising ideas, we may well be able to raise the money to establish a computer class. It would also be great to use the building for adult classes in an evening; so many relatively young adults are illiterate due to the chaos of the ten year war, which ended in 2003.
Festus, our local electrician, came to survey the premises on Tuesday 18th February with a view to producing a rewiring estimate and advise on the size of generator which would be required to run a computer suite and also to pump water from the underground holding tank to the elevated tank, for our toilet system.
The cost of an appropriate generator would be in the region of £1,000/£1,500, larger than the one we have at the house. The new wire, replacement switches and sockets are estimated to cost in the region of £2,000, plus a large consumer unit we would import via ‘suitcase’ from UK. The UK unit would be of a superior quality, better than anything available in Bo.
Our new classroom, sponsored by Beers Group, Timber & Building Merchants, is having the ducting put in for new wiring with a view to having the storeroom for the consumer unit & generator. If we opt for solar, the panels and batteries will have to be located in the middle of the building in and above the caretaker’s room for security purposes.
The solar installation doesn’t have a price tag yet, we’re waiting for a quote. 
Bashiru Kamara, a parent with 5 children at OAKS, a civil and electrical engineer is preparing us an estimate. Once we have that perhaps we can then explore whether it would be judicious to ship the components. It will no doubt be somewhat expensive.
The advantage of solar is obvious. A generator will always require fuel and an oil change every fortnight of full use.
OAKS is not in an area of delivered electricity. Despite there being a power service to most of Bo, because it’s generated hydroelectrically, the supply is unreliable in the dry season. November 2013 – March/April 2014 Bo was in darkness. Not even power on Christmas Day! Not a source of energy which can be relied upon at all, it’s never delivered on consecutively days in day out, even in the rainy season.
Possible fund raising target, £2,000 for rewire and £1,500 for generator and upwards of that to maybe £6,000 +, as a total guesstimate, for solar (£4,000). Lots of research required.
Can you help with a dedicated donation? If we had electricity we would love to be able to provide a computer suite & an adult literacy and numeracy facility in the evening. We could also provide a homework club during long periods of ‘black out’.
To Help us raise money for the Solar or Re wire please click here
