Week 10: Egoli and Service Learning

                Service learning is the main component that drew me to the South Africa Maymester, so I am overjoyed to officially have my assignment of working with Egoli. Egoli addresses the lack of electricity in a township in Cape Town. I am so excited to be finding a solution for a public health issue like this. Rolling blackouts are sometimes a problem in various parts of South Africa. I grew up in a neighborhood where having electricity was never a problem. A few months ago, the electricity was temporarily out in my residence hall and my first morning class. It was an inconvenience for those few hours and I cannot imagine what it is like to live in a place where this happens daily.  I found an article published by World Bank about the problem of electricity. It addresses the problem all over the African continent and how improvements in mining can bring more electricity to more people. This would mean better quality of life and improved economies.  There are other sources such as solar energy or lights made of low-cost material that could help combat the problem, but mining could provide a long-term solution.

“Power is criticial to mining companies and by becoming anchor customers for electricity utilities, mines can save hundreds of millions of dollars in supplying their own power”

http://www.worldbank.org/en/news/press-release/2015/02/09/mining-companies-can-help-turn-on-the-lights-across-sub-saharan-africa-says-world-bank