No electricity again!
on J and M in Assosa (Ethiopia), 25/Nov/2007 09:11, 34 days ago
Week started with no electricity last Sunday afternoon. We at first thought it was only temporary but then it went on and on… and it was even more frustrating to realise that the rest of the houses round us were ablaze with light. In the morning I went to the Electricity Office and brought home a very nice man who detected quite quickly that it was our outside trip switch but then he took 2 hours to fix it. He was going to by pass it but I indicated I thought that was dangerous. He agreed to return in the evening with a new socket in the kitchen which had caused the problem in the first place. It has always been rather dodgy. With a bit of prompting he came the next night and with Mulatu translating he told us not to use the regulator as it was not heavy enough to take the load of the electric ring.We told him we had been using this system for the past year but he was adamant. As the plug on the regulator has burnt through we thought it would be wise to take his advice. I am very suspicious and wary of the electrics here. Tuesday we were given notice to quit our house as VSO had not paid the rent. However VSO assured us that the money was in the bank and ready for Urban Development Bureau to collect. No direct debit here!Wednesday I took on the Customs Office in order to post some small items but the Head was not there so nobody could help me. I decided to chance the Post Office and I was able to post them without any problems, which is great. Whether they arrive of course is a different matter. However the post office refused to take one parcel as they do not take parcels (only large envelopes). I have now pushed this item into a large envelope and we shall see on Saturday how that is received. It is very strange not being able to post a parcel. At least they accept them from Addis for delivery here.The weather has certainly got warmer and we had proof of that when our tea was just ever so slightly off one night. It is amazing how tasty a tin of sardines can be when you have nothing else except a plate of cold pasta. I will just have to remember to put everything in the fridge from now on. After all VSO do not buy everyone a fridge just those in areas where temperatures can reach 35+C.In contrast everyone tells me that the weather is miserable inUKincluding NI with rain and cold, dark mornings and evenings not to mention the frost. How are we going to cope? I dread to think.Internet still very slow but at least we can with perseverance send and receive if the items are not too big. I tried to send our 20 page security plan to new volunteers but failed completely. Mind you as this includes instructions for an emergency evacuation I am sure we would not have time to read it and would just have to resort to common sense.There is a new‘ferenji’ in Assosa, a German who is working with the Red Cross. She is an ‘African expert’ having lived in a lot of countries inWest Africabut she is still surprised at the lack of facilities in Assosa. She is living in one of the rare privately rented houses in Assosa with a flush toilet and kitchen. However she despairs that it does not work and that there is nobody competent in Assosa to fix it. I am not sure what she expected. One of the first statistics we were told on arrival inEthiopiawas that even in Addis only 4% of toilets have access to a sewerage system. I think all the non Ethiopians who work for NGOs must have access to them.Not sure what she would make of our‘facilities’! She is here for 2 years so I am sure we shall see a lot of her.