From February 1st to February 14th, Vesta Source distributed solar lights in Maara, Tanzania. There, we taught villagers how to operate the lights, learned more about their ways of life, and visited and interacted with their schools, town centers, and homes.
Maara is the most poverty-stricken region in Tanzania. Over 50% of the country still live off the grid, meaning that they have no access to running water, sanitation, or electricity. Maara does its best to run all of its industries without these 3 vital resources, but lack of electricity limits what the people can accomplish.
Vesta Source worked with Tanzania’s Mother and Child Hope for Education and Empowerment Organization (MCEEO) to organize and distribute the solar lights on this service trip. The lights primarily went to support women and children in rural Maara. They were used in the aquaculture cage fish farms run by women in Lake Victoria, to help with visibility and security. They also benefitted classrooms across Maara, allowing students to study after dark. In addition, some of the lights went to a rural farm nearby the city Dar es Salaam , improving productivity and making daily work easier.
Geofrey Rucho, the secretary general from MCEEO states, “Actually, this support came at the right moment, for our women and our children.”
Everyone at Vesta Source was so inspired by how resilient the people of Maara were, and learned so much about what conditions are actually like there. We can’t wait to go on another service trip; we have big things planned! (like maybe a permanent generator!😉)
These pictures show some of what we did on our trip.
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