In a medical world, in a house with clay walls, surrounded like a cave, a busy woman from Zanzibar, Sherifa Hussein, got busy connecting "electrical cables" and an outlet for checking voltage, standing on mats with cables. After this, with the help of three other women, Sherifa managed to connect two cables to an electronic device installed on the wall, constantly observed by other women led by creative leaders. The entire group of women, dressed in bright dresses, installed devices for solar energy in the village of Mioni-Bay on the island of Unguja, the main island of the Zanzibar archipelago, having autonomy and located along the coast of Tanzania in East Africa. These women are part of a larger group known as "Solar Mamas," which engages in collection, installation, and maintenance of solar energy systems throughout the archipelago. Women, working together with the group, receive training at the local college, known as "Perfect College Zanzibar," which is a non-commercial public organization. "Many women do not get a chance, and we want to change their perception from the idea that they are born only to be mothers and raise children, to understanding that they can become professionals," said the director of the college’s programs and operations, Brenda Jeffries.
#### Most Important Takeaway In recent years for people living in poverty in Zanzibar, things have improved, and many of them suffer from a lack of electricity due to high costs for infrastructure expansion and the complexity of connections to the state electricity grid. The "Perfect College" program aims to train women without formal education so they can become specialists in solar energy and contribute to the same social and economic development.
#### Example of a Participant At the college "Perfect," Sherifa Hussein, mother of five children, completed training and with her help established solar energy in three homes, experiencing greater benefit from the "Perfect" program, which helped her develop her talents.
Research from the Swedish University of Kalmar in Sweden indicated that the training and work program of the group "Solar Mamas" aims to overcome social barriers and demonstrates that non-formal education can make people skilled specialists and community leaders.