Powerless

I have been known to groan a bit when the power goes off…and it goes off a lot! Sometimes it happens when you have got your meal cooked and there’s enough boiled water and it’s daytime. Sometimes, though, it cuts out when you’re roasting something in the oven and there is only a little water and it’s dark. That’s when I groan. The power goes off almost daily for about 8 hours. Having said that, there is no real pattern. At times, we have continuous electricity for two days but at other times it will turn off for a long stretch, come on for an hour and then have another lapse.

There are a couple of reasons for the cuts. There is load sharing at the moment because winter makes much greater demands on a pretty old electrical infrastructure. There is also an issue with Mozambique. They supply some of Zimbabwe’s power and the unpaid bill is escalating. There are also some malfunctions. This causes some irritation for us but it is far more serious for businesses and other services in Harare.

Recently, I enjoyed a short stay in a remote rural village where there was never any electricity. Somehow never having to rely on it felt more relaxed. But to be honest, a lot of the hard work was being done by our hosts. I also admire the stoicism of the Mama’s at Matthew Rusike. When the power fails at night they often have to light a fire to be able to feed the ten children in their care. It turns a big job into a big, smoky, long, uncomfortable, difficult job.

We have also been known to cheer when the power comes on. Late in the evening, if we are sitting quietly in the dark and the lights come on, we whoop and then scurry around boiling, recharging, cooking and other electricity-related verbs.