How Africa Is Hacking Its Energy Crisis
Meet 3 inspiring Tanzanians who found ways to hack the energy crisis, in which 600 million people in sub-Saharan Africa have no power.
What is life like in 2015 without reliable electricity?
For over 600 million people in sub-Saharan Africa, it is life as normal. Nearly everyone has a cell phone, but charging one is an issue because homes don't have electricity. Video games and televised football matches are interrupted by constant blackouts - sometimes lasting up to 48 hours. Cooking over a fire with toxic smoke is unavoidable, even though everyone knows it's a major health hazard.
Laura Ling met several Tanzanians who are determined to overcome these types of challenges. Their creativity and inspiring attitudes resulted in unique hacks to the energy crisis.
Towards the end of her trip, Laura met Mercy Kitomari, who owns a gelato shop in Tanzania - an especially difficult business to run without reliable electricity. She explained the importance of finding solutions, despite the number of setbacks.
"People tell me we're looking at you, don't you dare give up," Kitomari said, as she described her business as a point of inspiration for other Tanzanians. "And I think of those things when there's power outages, just smile and carry on because if I give up, I let them down."
To learn more about energy poverty, visit ONE.org/energy.