Very interesting day. We visited the Rijiya Tsakadawa community in Gusau Local government area of Zamfara state. It’s a community that is far off the beaten track, approximately 28 km (round trip) from Zaria road in Gusau.
Our contact, Mallam Shehu Fada, was extremely helpful in guiding us to this remote area. No description would have gotten us to Rijiya on our own – through abandoned rail tracks, rocky hills, bumpy paths, eroded grounds and winding batches of clay huts.
On our way to the village, we were lucky to run into the head of the community – Alhaji Umar Ibrahim (Sarkin Yarki Rijiya) – who stopped to chat and photograph with us while thanking us for coming all the way to his village. He says he knows a bit about solar and looks forward to working with us in transforming Rijiya into a well-lit community.
The Primary Healthcare centre in this location is yet another one without light. It does house a solar panel which is able to power just the refrigerator for vaccines.
The Facility Head, Sani Musa Gusau, showed us the torchlight that had become the de facto means of lighting due to poor electricity supply. He insisted we take a photograph of the drip unit, symbolic of the difficulty the clinic attendants face when trying to fit a patient with a drip under poor lighting conditions. He grinned with relief at the prospect of the much brighter visibility that a 26LED lamp would bring to the centre – and this makes the work we do so worthwhile.
Our best shot of the day was the tiny, young ‘shepherd’ boy who so confidently herded sheep and goats.
We got to Katsina too late to visit our target Primary Healthcare Centre, which is one hour away from Katsina town. However, our local contact (Gloria Mfon – who speaks fluent hausa) received us very warmly. She runs an NGO called Women & Children Development Initiative. In our opinion, people like Gloria and James Yisa are the real HEROES of our time, working silently and determinedly to serve the rural populace, and empower women.
Connectivity
Internet: Barely passable GPRS signal from Glo Internet
Mobile phone: Glo, MTN and Zain work OK in Gusau and Katsina
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