Solar Dreams

Today we traveled to Timba Basic School to install solar powered electricity and 8 new energy efficient computers in a place that had never before had electricity. Needless to say, they had never seen computers before either.

I was on-site to install 4 solar panels, a large battery and a DC-AC inverter for converting DC battery power to AC electric sockets for connecting the computer equipment. All of this was so I could then install 8 ultra-efficient T1 Linux computers running a free version of Linux called Ubuntu. The monitor and PC are incredibly efficient and run on less than 1/10th of the power of a regular PC/monitor combo.

I had never worked with any of this type of equipment before in my life and I knew nothing about installing any of it. But I felt it would all be fine as I had been consulted by two separate solar power experts on how to connect and install everything. So I followed exactly what they consulted me to do and set everything up without a glitch. Except for the fact that it started to pour rain and the roof started to leak water and drip onto the new equipment, it all went swimmingly well.

A few hours later, when the headmaster, the teachers and the students saw the 8 computers start up and the screens come to life, their eyes opened wide and lit up. I am sure I will never forget the smiles on their faces and the expression on their faces - the proclamations of gratitude they gave me when they saw it all up and running. The headmaster, Mr. Mutale, reached out with two hands and fiercely shook my hand as he profusely thanked me and all of us for what we had done here for them. All of them were so incredibly grateful and excited. And so was I. For them these computers were magic. And for me the experience was magical.

That night I had the most amazing dreams. I was in a nice deep sleep when all of a sudden I was awakened by a bell or a "ding" followed by a person calling out my name. It was as clear and vivid as any words I have ever heard while being totally awake. Loud and clear I heard a bell and then my name spoken - "Craig" - and immediately I woke up and my eyes opened. I thought there was someone in my room. I was sure of it. But I quickly realized I had been dreaming and that a voice had awakened me. Was it someone at my door? No...it was right next to me, almost like a spoken whisper in my ear.

I awoke to the revelation that the solar panels and DC-AC inverter that I had installed in Timba the day before were setup incorrectly. The amazing thing was that I have never set them up before in my life and knew nothing for sure and the fact that 2 experts had consulted me on setting up everything exactly the way I did made me second guess my revelation. But in my dreams it was wrong.

And just like that, as clear as day, I knew what I had to do to correct the installation of the solar panels and inverter. I was now anxious and could not go back to sleep, so as soon as the sun came up, I woke up the others and told them that I had to go back to Timba to fix it. The team asked me why and when I told them I had a dream that it was wrong and how to fix it, I am pretty sure they thought I had lost my shit. But again I assured them that I my dreams told me it was wrong and I had to go back and fix it.

So our driver, Lazarus, agreed to take me back to Timba which was more than two hours roundtrip across rough dirt roads which we could not pass over without the use of his Toyota 4 X 4.

So we went back. And I followed my intuition that came to me in my dreams. And I fixed the inverter. And everything was setup correctly. So now this small community in the Northern District of Zambia will continue to run their computer centre on solar power and an inverter. Now the students will learn how to operate PCs and will enhance their learning experience and their potential for building a career for themselves through the help of this small data centre. And I was happy for them.

And I don't know why all of this came to me in a dream. Nor do I know why I heard that voice. Nor do I know why I was sure I had to go back and change the setup against the advice of experts. But I did.

On the drive home an Impala ran across the path just ahead of us as we bounced along the rough dirt road. Moments later we saw a stealth-like zebra tucked into the woods along side our vehicle, desperately trying to avoid the straining roar of our engine. And when I finally returned to my room back in Chinsali to turn in for the night, I decided to check my email before going to bed. And it was then that I saw an email from a girl I used to be in love with - she had written telling me she had to tell me about the vivid dreams she had about me = dreams of wisdom and light.

And although I was amazed, it all made complete sense, somehow.

My trip has been magical. I feel so fortunate to have been given this opportunity and this experience.