Today was our second day of working with Feminique, a group of young women in Mfuleni.  Our goal was to make solar jars (which we couldn’t do yesterday due to a power outage). This time, I blew a fuse as I was setting up by plugging in a 120V power strip into a 220V outlet (I guess that I still have a lot to learn about compatibility!).  It blew the power strip, but thankfully I didn’t plug in my school’s projector yet!  The breaker box was locked, so there was no power in the room. So we wound up moving everything over to another room that had power.  Despite our limited outlets, adapters, and space, we still had a successful workshop – everyone got a chance to take home an operational lantern.  We got a chance to test the solar output with a multimeter, troubleshoot a few problems, and then use those teachable moments to explain how electricity, circuits, transistors, and solar energy works.

I still can’t help but mention the nature of these women again.  They are so vibrant and full of energy.  They especially love to get their picture taken 🙂