Installing solar panels in Rwanda, remotely

This is summer, we should be in Rwanda installing solar panels and wiring up houses to provide lighting, phone charging, … - what we had been doing for many years until the coronavirus intervened in 2020.  In summer 2020 we were forced to postpone and eventually cancel the project.  This year we have more time to prepare.  So we are doing it remotely.  

We assemble a team of students, purchase 150 solar panels, controllers, cables, LED lights, phone chargers, ….  We assemble the systems and shipped more than two tons of equipment to Rwanda.  We work with our partner African Evangelical Enterprise Rwanda to purchase the batteries, identify 150 households in a village near Rwamagana, and assemble a team of AEE staff, local volunteers and youths from the village.  We train the local Rwanda team on the installation and operation of the solar panel system. 

Today the local team start to install the systems in the village.  Our students are working online to support the installation …

“Where is team 1?  We cannot get in touch with them!”

“Team 3 cannot connect with their partners either.”

“The team has arrived in the village.”

“Gerald is help them a lot.”

“Who is the house owner?” 

“Can you tell us the name of the owner?”

“Can you show us the inside of the house?”

“You mike is muted.”

“Can you get Eric on WhatsApp?”

“How many are in the house?”

“Just three, right?”

“I want Eric!”

“The battery can be on the floor.”

“But should be in a place where the children will not play with it.”

“Plug the lamp cable there.”

“The lamp cable?”

“Stop! The cable is tied.”

“Now it is OK.”

“Goo … goo …”

“The baby is so cute.”

“There is a nail next to the controller.”

“You can hang the radio on the nail when it is charging.”

“We are moving to another house.”

“How is the progress? The installation.”

“We are finished with one house. We are moving onto the next one.”

“This is living room.”

“This is LED.”

“This is controller box.”

“Take a look at this.  The cable should not be stretched.  It should be like this.”

“Thank you.”

“Suleymen! Süleymen!”

“…”

It is barely-managed chaos.  Almost unbelievably, progress is being made.  Remote engineering as service-learning.